New Life, Meet Old Life
by dozygirl
Summary: Buffy Summers is the Slayer, but she wasn't always. In fact she wasn't always Buffy Summers either.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be.

Chapter 1

Sunnydale.

"Whatcha doing?" a perky redhead asked, leaning over her friends shoulder.

Buffy Summers slammed the book closed before looking back to see Willow Rosenberg's startled face. "Oh, sorry, Will. I didn't realise it was you. You surprised me," Buffy smiled apologetically.

"Sorry."

"S'Ok. I was just researching stuff. You know, demons and vampires. All that jazz."

"Can I help? Is the world ending? 'Cos if it is I think we should have some kinda system set-up to let everyone know. There could be memo's and, well, I don't know what else, but I'll get back to you."

Buffy forced herself not to laugh at Willow's babbling. "Nah. It's nothing important. Not even remotely apocalypse like."

"Well that's Ok then." Willow sighed in relief. "You had me worried."

At that moment an older man poked his head around his office door. "Buffy, you're here good. Training?" he asked with a British accent.

"Sure." Buffy stood up with the book in her arms and went over to her watcher. Dropping the book in his arms she turned back to Willow and said, "so, are we studying tonight? I'm kinda worried about tomorrow's history quiz."

"Oh, yes. I'll come over to yours later and we'll do that."

"Cool. See you later."

"Bye." Willow left the library with a backward glance at the Slayer. Why did she get the feeling Buffy was trying to stop her seeing what the book she had been reading was about? That wasn't like her. She was normally so open.

As soon as Willow was gone Buffy turned to Giles. "Timely save," she murmured. "I didn't think she'd leave without lots and lots of detail on what that book was about."

"Yes. Well. Be that as it may my primary reason for interrupting was your training."

"Of course it was." Buffy replied, "but thank you anyway."

"How many times must I tell you? If you must study such things in secret, then you should at least try to be a little more…"

"Secretive?" Buffy piped up.

"Exactly," Giles was doing that exasperated thing he did where he took off his glasses and polished them so Buffy figured she should let it drop. "So. Training?"

An hour or so later as Buffy was leaving the library Giles called her back. Returning the book she had been studying earlier he gave her one final glare. "Do try not to let Willow and Xander read this. It's very sensitive information and they are not yet privy to the…"

"I know, I know. But I've gotta keep up to date Giles. One day soon I'm gonna need this stuff. I need to be prepared. I only wish I could really practise it instead of just reading about it. You never realise how important the practical aspect is until you can't do it anymore."

Giles expression softened to one of pity. "You know why you can't."

"Yeah." Buffy sighed dejectedly. "They'll find me and then bad things will happen. I wouldn't be safe here anymore." She turned and walked out of the library, her head hung low and the book clutched to her chest.

Willow had left about ten minutes or so before. Their impromptu study date had of course turned into boy talk. Willow had been detailing some new quirk of Xander's and Buffy had described her latest Angel dream. Not much actual studying had been done. Buffy figured she'd probably already failed that quiz. Her mom would be disappointed when she found out, but Buffy couldn't really seem to care right now. She had priorities and history just wasn't one of them.

This thought reminded her of the rather heavy book she had hidden in a drawer. She pulled it out, planning on getting some real studying done, when her eye was caught by something underneath. It was a photograph of her and her old friends, from her old life, when everything had been so simple, yet so complicated.

Her fingers brushed the photographic faces gently as they smiled up at her, perpetually happy, never knowing what was to come. It had been taken the summer before she had been called as the Slayer, they had been doing something, cleaning perhaps, she could no longer remember exactly what, when one of her friends had told a joke that had had them all rolling around the floor in hysterical laughter. Later they had discovered that another friend had seen them and snapped a picture to embarrass them. She, of course, had confiscated the picture, but had forgotten to destroy it. She had found it again when packing all her things up to move, but knowing she would likely never see them again she had decided to keep it, regretting never being able to take a better one.

"I miss you guys," she whispered softly. "I hate to think what you're doing without me." She snorted then. "Probably things you're not supposed to." Sighing for what she had lost, she put the picture back in her drawer of things no one but her was ever supposed to see. Willow and Xander were great but they were so close to one another that sometimes she felt a bit of a third wheel. Of course it had been like that with her old friends in the beginning to, but as they'd grown up together they had learned to appreciate each other. They had been quite the exclusive group, everyone had wanted to be a part of it, but no one could get close enough and nothing could split them up. She frowned, remembering that one time, well, not for long anyway.

She glanced at the clock. It was almost 9. She could almost hear Giles nagging her to get out on patrol. "Ok, Giles I'm going. Studying can wait 'til after."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

Scotland, one year earlier. (Halloween.)

It was a bright yet windy day in Hogsmeade as three teenagers walked along a village street. In the centre was a dark haired boy with bright green eyes and glasses. On his forehead was a lightning bolt shaped scar. To his right was a tall, gangling boy with very red hair and lots of freckles. To the far left of the group was the only girl whose hair was long brown and a little bushy. All three were wearing what appeared to be a uniform, black robes and cloaks with scarlet and gold scarves wrapped around their necks.

The girl, Hermione Granger leaned over to the dark haired boy. "It really wasn't that bad though was it, Harry? she asked him.

"I guess not," Harry Potter replied, shrugging. "But you know that half of them were only interested in hearing what I have to say about Voldemort first hand."

"Not all of them. Some seemed to genuinely want to learn from you."

"She's right Harry," Ron Weasley, the other boy, chimed in. "Besides you have us to help you so there really is nothing to worry about, right Hermione?"

"Of course we'll help."

Reaching The Three Broomsticks the teens paused. "Come on. Let's go get a butterbeer," Ron said eagerly. "All that planning has gotten me thirsty."

"He just wants to see Madame Rosmerta," Hermione told Harry dryly as they followed their friend in.

The small pub was completely crowded with Hogwarts students. After ordering their drinks they fought their way to a corner table and sat, talking animatedly about anything that came to mind. Harry felt content. He lived for moments like these, just sitting here with his friends and pretending he was just like everyone else. He looked at Hermione as she talked about the Potions essay Snape had set them the day before. Something was different about her lately. She went through the motions, studied with them, and talked with them. She went to classes and meals, her grades were as good as ever, but there were times when she would be…distant. The hours she spent in the library had increased recently although that could be attributed to OWL studies. She also spent some time seemingly hiding from the world as neither Ron nor Harry could find her. Harry didn't want to betray her trust unless he thought there was something serious going on, but he knew that sometime soon he would be following her with the Marauder's Map and his invisibility cloak.

"And if you two don't start trying just a little bit harder you're going to fail all your OWL's," Hermione was ranting. "Honestly! I can't do it all for you. You have to…" her voice trailed off.

Harry glanced up at her. Her face had drained of colour and she was staring at something across the room. There was a middle-aged man sitting at a table there. He looked perfectly normal, grey hair, blue eyes, fairly muscular but not huge. The only alarming thing about him was that he was staring directly at Hermione. "D'you know who he is Hermione?" he asked her quietly.

"Hmm? Oh, yes. That's Merrick. He's a friend of mine. Excuse me for a minute." Hermione stood, leaving her butterbeer and bags behind to stalk directly up to the man. She sat with him and the two soon seemed deep in conversation. The man's eyes kept glancing up at Harry and Ron as if to make sure that they weren't trying to sneak over and eavesdrop. 'Well that rules that plan out," Harry thought.

Ron shifted closer to Harry in order to be able to see more clearly. "Who d'you reckon he is?"

"All she said was Merrick," Harry replied. "You don't think that they're related or anything do you?"

"Nah. Hermione's muggle-born remember. She wouldn't have relatives in Hogsmeade. What I want to know is how she made a friend in the village without us knowing if one of us is almost always with her every time we come here."

Harry thought about that. "You're right. Which means Hermione's been sneaking out of school to come here, or she knows him from somewhere else."

"She must have met him somewhere else right? I mean, this is Hermione we're talking about. No way would she sneak out of school for no good reason. _We_ always have to talk _her_ into that kind of thing," Ron reminded him.

They looked back to Hermione and the stranger. "Well whoever he is I don't think Hermione's very fond of him right now," Harry said. It was true, Hermione was now standing and looked to be arguing with the stranger, although they kept their voices quiet.

Suddenly Hermione was walking towards them, her face like a thundercloud. "Come on," she hissed at them. They all grabbed their things and left, two thirds of the group wondering what the hell was going on.

Harry and Ron pestered Hermione all the way back to school to tell them who the stranger was, but she refused to say anything. The boys, knowing Hermione's moods, decided to tactfully let it drop. Either she would tell them herself or they would find out another way.

The next morning Hermione Ganger was no where to be found. She had been surly at the Halloween feast the night before and now she had missed breakfast and her morning classes altogether. It wasn't until lunch time that anyone knew why.

Harry and Ron were slowly eating, both very concerned for their best friend, when Hedwig flew over and dropped a note in front of them. It was such an unusual occurrence to get owl post at lunch that the whole school was watching.

It was written on muggle stationary, Harry noted as he ripped open the envelope and scanned the bottom of the note. He gasped. "It's from Hermione." He flattened the note on the table and both boys leaned over it.

Dear Ron and Harry,

I haven't been the best of friends lately so I completely understand if you both hate me after reading this letter.

I won't be seeing you again. I know that's blunt, but it's the truth. You see, my parents found out. Everything. What we get up to in school, Voldemort, everything and I guess you could say that they're scared for me. This is why they have removed me from school permanently and we're moving to another country-no I won't tell you where. That man you saw me with yesterday-Merrick-he brought me the news. As you saw I was angry at first, but in the end I decided that if it makes mum and dad more comfortable, I could do it for them. After all if Voldemort ever decided to come after me for daring to be a muggle-born witch he would surely kill both of them too without a second thought. So, you see, this is my choice. My biggest regret is leaving you two behind. Especially you Harry. I know I promised I would help you with the study group, but I can't so I leave you with the sign up sheet (there's a inx on it-probably best to keep that to yourselves) and a few tips.

1-Pick a good name, one that can inspire everyone and that doesn't make it completely obvious what you're doing-we all know Umbridge won't approve.

2-Have everyone vote on a leader. It will be you, but everyone will feel happier if they feel they chose for that to happen.

3-Be confident. These people are choosing to learn defense from you. They trust you. Trust yourself.

4-Get rid of that Umbridge cow. She's one of the worst things to ever happen to this wonderful school and I hate to think exactly how much power the ministry is giving her. I know this isn't exactly a tip, but I felt it was worth mentioning. Don't let her get to you, no matter what and please, for me, try and control your temper. You make me worry so much and I will no longer be there to help you.

I believe in you Harry. You're going to be a great teacher.

Ron, help Harry and try to be a bit more confident yourself. You got on the quidditch team because you deserve to be there. I know that betweent the two of you you will ensure another Gryffindor victory. Don't forget you're a prefect. Act like it. Don't be scared to tell those brothers of yours off if you feel they need it.

Please tell all your family, especially your mum, how grateful I am to them that they opened their home to me every summer and for making me feel like part of the family.

I love you both. Please be strong for one another in the hard times we all know are ahead. I wish I could be with you, but life's just not worked out that way.

All my love Hermione.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3.

Sunnydale, the present.

'Where are they?' Buffy wondered exasperatedly, looking around.

She was supposed to meet Willow and Xander here, outside school after class, but they were late. The three of them had plans involving hanging out, watching TV and maybe even eating large amounts of junk food, culminating in a night of dancing in the Bronze. She even had high hopes of Angel showing up. But, before they could do any of that, her two best friends had to actually get here.

She stood on tiptoe, cursing her small stature. 'Ah, Xander, at last,' she thought, spotting the shaggy haired young man. She started to fight her way over to him when a second glance stopped her. He was wearing glasses. 'Ok, not Xander.'

"Hey Buff," a voice said from behind her.

With a startled yelp Buffy spun to face a smiling Xander Harris. Willow was standing just behind him. Annoyed at being surprised like that she smacked him on the arm and he rewarded her with a yelp of his own.

"Where were you?" she demanded. "I've been waiting."

"We were in class, Buffy," Willow told her. "Y'know that place where you were supposed to be."

"What do you mean? We had a free period last didn't we?" At Willow's rather pointed look Buffy dropped her head. "Oops." Then she shrugged, deciding it really didn't matter and linked her arm through Willow's. "Come on, let's go. I checked in with Giles already, he said as long as I make a pass through the cemeteries later I could take the evening off. No ancient prophecies coming to pass tonight."

"Thus freeing us up for some serious fun," Xander said happily. "Giles must be in a good mood to let you have time off."

"Yup. Of course it might have had something to do with the fact that Ms Calendar came by and he just wanted me to be elsewhere."

"Those two are so sweet," Willow smiled.

"Sweet is not the word I'd use, but if it makes them happy I say 'have at it.'" Buffy frowned. "Just not in front of me, 'cos they're way too old to be having public smoochies."

The three of them laughed, completely oblivious to two sets of eyes following their every move.

Buffy walked through the empty streets, idly swinging a stake in her hand. Not a single vampire was in sight. 'What a complete waste of time.' Bored, she decided to head on to the Bronze and her friends when she heard a yell.

Instinctively she ran towards it, eyes constantly scanning the area for potential threats. She pulled up, surveying the scene. A female vampire with long black hair was leaning over a redheaded boy. He was clearly in trouble, but Buffy's eyes were drawn to his right hand. She paused in shock. 'No way.' Clutched tightly in the boy's fist was a wand.

For a long second she just stared, unable to believe it. She blinked; coming back to her senses, then rushed forward and grabbed the vampire by the shoulders throwing her to the floor. Turning to keep the vamp in sight and herself between the two she said forcefully over her shoulder, "run!"

The boy stood, clutching his neck. He stayed only an instant seemingly indecisive until he wisely decided to follow her advice. By now the vampire was back on her feet, growling at the interruption and Buffy prepared for a fight. Snapping a quick kick to the vamp's face she followed it up with a punch and a roundhouse kick, sending her opponent sprawling to the ground.

Buffy looked up to see that the 'almost meal' was heading around the corner. He was yelling something. At least he was safe. Unfortunately her moment of distraction had left her vulnerable and the vampire tackled her. This time they both tumbled over. The vamp scrambled to her feet but Buffy scissored her legs, knocking her adversary off her feet. Seconds later there was dust floating on the wind.

'Job well done,' she thought in satisfaction. 'I saved the kid, killed the bad guy, now I think I deserve to party.' However she'd barely taken two steps before she heard running footsteps.

"Hermione!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Is it me or is this place completely dead tonight?" Xander complained to his best friend.

"You're not wrong," Willow said absently stirring her drink with a straw. "Maybe we should give the Bronze a miss tonight. Ooh! There's that documentary on tonight. The one about the amoeba's. We could watch it."

Xander smiled at her fondly. "Surprisingly, I think I'm gonna pass on that." He looked around. "Buffy's still not here."

"Nope. Must have found some things to stake on patrol."

"Do you think she's Ok? She's been an awfully long time."

Willow shrugged. "You wanna go find her? Maybe we could help with the slaying."

"Yeah, sure." The two stood up and headed for the exit. "Perhaps we could get some ice cream on the way. I'm having a craving."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Buffy froze. She hadn't heard that name in over a year. She took a deep breath. Surely she'd changed enough in that time that anyone sent from the wizarding world could be persuaded that they'd got the wrong girl. Planting a big fake smile on her face she said, "sorry, the name's Buffy," and turned to face the wizard behind her.

It turned out to be two wizards and it was obvious that she would never be able to convince these two that she wasn't Hermione Granger. Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. Both out of breath from running and clutching their wands they stared at her disbelievingly. Ron's left hand was clamped on his neck; he was a little pale from blood loss, which made his skin contrast sharply against his bright red hair and freckles, but otherwise alright.

"It is you!" he said. "I wasn't sure. I'm sorry I left, but I figured I should get Harry. He's better at that kind of stuff." He paused. "And what kind of name is _Buffy _anyway? If you were gonna make up a name why didn't you at least use something believable? Like Joan."

Buffy couldn't speak. After a year and more of wondering if they were still even alive, here were her boys. In Sunnydale. As in far away from where they should be. She made an incomprehensible noise in the back of her throat. She couldn't do this. Not now.

"Hermione?" Harry asked tentatively. "I know you're surprised to see us, but Ron says he was attacked by a vampire and that someone, you I suppose, pulled her off him. Is she gone? Are you alright?"

Buffy's eyes shifted to him. He looked much the same as ever except that he was taller than her now. Messy hair was falling into his deep green eyes, which were hidden behind thick glasses. 'Oh no, I saw him at school earlier. Have they been following me?' Suddenly realising she had been asked a question she shook her head. "No. She left."

"How did you do that?" Ron asked curiously. "I tried every spell I could think of. It did absolutely nothing. Then you pulled her off me and I figured you could hold her off until I got Harry and I couldn't think of anything else to do."

'Pull yourself together girl.' "Magic doesn't work on vampires. Not even conjured fire. You have to use muggle methods." The words sounded strange even to her. Her voice was thick with emotion. She didn't know how she'd kept the tears back this long.

"So what did you do?" Harry asked curiously.

"I showed her my cross and she ran away." Buffy's hands were shaking. They'd only been here for a minute and already she was lying to them. They were going to see right through her. Time to change the topic. "What are you doing here?"

Ron was looking at her like she was crazy. "Are you kidding? We came to get you. To take you home."

Buffy could feel that the tears were now running openly down her cheeks. She didn't know what to do. She felt so confused.

Arms came around her shoulders. "How could we not come Hermione? You're our best friend," Ron whispered.

Buffy buried her face in his shoulder, one arm holding him to her, her other hand she held out to Harry. "We missed you Hermione," Harry told her seriously as he too took her in his arms.

They stood there for a time in that three way hug until Buffy pulled away wiping her eyes. "You two need to put your wands away. Someone might see and then the Statute of Secrecy would be right out the window. You'd both be expelled from Hogwarts, if you aren't already."

They boys stashed their wands away, sharing a look that clearly said, 'same old Hermione.'

"Hermione…" Harry began.

"It's Buffy," she said before he could continue.

"Buffy Summers," he agreed. "We know."

"How do you know? How did you find me? I thought I told you that this was my _choice_. _This _is my home now. I can't leave." Buffy's voice rose with each sentence until she was almost shouting. Harry and Ron looked taken aback.

"Hey! Buffy!" It was Xander and Willow carrying far too much ice cream and heading their way.

"Oh God! I can't do this right now. Can I meet you guys another time?" When the boys nodded she continued, "meet me after school tomorrow. We'll talk then. You'd better have a good explanation." With that she walked past them and didn't look back.

As she left two slightly perplexed teens looked at each other. _They_ had to have a good explanation?

A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4.

Giles looked at the book with a small frown. Of course on the rare occasion when a student would actually check out a book he or she couldn't be the nice book respecting type. They had to be that very special type of person that would find joy in destroying the book by spilling coffee across the cover, or writing in the margins or other heinous crimes such as these.

He went back to the central tables to collect more books then turned to head back up the steps. "Agh!" he yelled dropping his pile to the floor. Despite herself Buffy smiled. Giles was so easy sometimes.

"Buffy," he spluttered. "I-I didn't see you come in."

"I guessed that," Buffy smirked.

"Was there something? How did your patrol go last night?" Giles ducked to gather the books, placing them back on the table.

The smile completely vanished from Buffy's face. "Only one vampire."

"Ah, good." He paused searching her face. "What else?"

Buffy lowered her eyes. "The vampire, she was feeding on someone. I knew him."

"Oh. I am so sorry Buffy," he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah… No! He's not dead. He's Ron. And Harry too.

Giles brow furrowed. "Ron and Harry?"

"Yeah, you know. My friends from…" she glanced around the library as if to ensure they were alone, "Hogwarts," she said in a whisper.

"Oh." He got it now. "Oh my."

"Are Willow and Xander...?"

"They're not here, no." He ran a hand through his hair. "Are you quite sure? Did they recognise you?"

Buffy nodded. "My biggest clue was when they called me Hermione and told me they were here to take me home. Giles what am I gonna _do_?" She threw up her arms and fell into a seat.

"Well I believe that the first thing would be to determine if they are alone or if they are accompanied by others. Do you think you could convince them to leave you here?"

"Even if it's just Harry and Ron, I don't see them leaving without me. They can both be very stubborn. And if everyone else is here as well, there's no way that they'll take no as an answer. They'll insist I go back."

"Do you want t go back?" Giles asked her.

Buffy pulled a face. "Does it matter what I want? Given a choice I would never have left, but it wasn't up to me. Besides, I'm needed _here._ Hellmouth remember?"

"Yes, yes, of course, but if you could choose to go back…"

"I'd go in a second."

"I see."

Buffy seemed frustrated now. "It's not that I don't love you guys, but there I could really study magic. They used to say I was the brightest witch in my year. _I excelled_ Giles. I was _good_ at magic. Then I came here and everything is different. I'm bottom in my classes, the ones I actually go to anyway, most of my teachers think I don't exist 'cos I'm never there. I miss just being able to go to class, do the homework thing, without everything else getting in the way."

"So this is about grades?"

"No! A little maybe, but not just that." Buffy crossed her arms on the table in front of her. "Things used to be simple. I was a witch when I was at school or with my friends, then when I was at home I was normal. Ok, so I was leading a double life, but it made sense. I knew who I was supposed to be and when and I didn't have to lie to anyone I cared about. Then I got chosen and I have to keep that a secret from _everybody._ You are the only person that knows every aspect of my life. The guys know I'm a Slayer, but don't know about the witchy stuff. Mom knows that I used to be a witch, but not only does she think that I gave all that up when we moved here, but also she doesn't know that I am now the Slayer. And everyone else? They all expect me to be _normal._ I can't keep doing this Giles. I can't lead three lives all at once." Buffy wasn't quite sure when she'd stood up and started pacing, but at that moment she became aware that that was exactly what she was doing. "So, yes, Giles! I would go back there, because then at least I could stop lying to the people that I love. I could just be a normal witch. I could be normal little Hermione Granger, Bookworm Extraordinaire!"

Giles, who had remained silent through Buffy's rant, cleared his throat. "Be that as it may, even if you went back there, too much has changed in your life. You cannot simply stop being the Slayer, even there. Your calling is a part of you and you won't be able to just stop slaying. It's not like quitting a job."

"I KNOW!" Buffy shouted. She dropped back into her chair dropping her face into her hands. "I know."

Giles crouched next to his distraught Slayer. He'd need to handle this carefully. "Have you ever considered telling your friends the truth?" he asked gently.

Buffy's head snapped up. "You mean Xander and Willow right? 'Cos I know _you_ would never condone me telling Harry and Ron about my Slayerness." At Giles' nod she continued, "Ok, that would be great, except there's this little thing called the Statute of Secrecy. Any witch or wizard who tells muggles about the wizarding world will most likely end up in prison. Your memories would be erased and then I would be all alone. I wouldn't even have you. Of course I'd be in prison anyway so…"

"Buffy, I don't pretend to know how the wizarding world works, but I do know that your friends_ can_ keep a secret. Besides, they are already aware of the fact that the mystical exists, they just don't realise how, how _organised_ it is." He stood slowly, feeling the ache in his knees. "It is your decision of course. I suggest you think about it."

"Ok. Thinking about it can't hurt, I guess." Buffy also rose to her feet swinging her bag onto her shoulder. "Are you going to be here later?"

"Yes, of course."

"I'm meeting Harry and Ron after school. We need somewhere to talk. Can I convince you to be somewhat inconspicuous if I were to bring them here?"

"Well…I…what exactly are you planning on telling them?"

"Nothing Slayery don't worry. I wanna know how they found me and I guess they want some more detail on why I left."

"Ah. Well in that case I shall endeavour to be elsewhere. You can use the study area" The two of them walked over to the counter.

"Thanks Giles. I appreciate it. Now I've just gotta remember precisely what I told them in that letter so I can keep my story straight. It doesn't help that it wasn't a particularly good story to start with. I had about thirty minutes to come up with something believable, write the letter and convince Hedwig to deliver it."

"Hedwig?"

"Smartest owl ever."

With that Buffy left the library, knowing without even looking that Giles' face was sporting a look of absolute incredulity.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The library door was opened just enough for a blonde head to poke through. "Anyone here?" There was no answer so Buffy walked the rest of the way in motioning to her two companions to follow. "Come on, we have the library to ourselves. No one ever comes in here."

Ron snorted. "Trust you to choose the nearest library for a reunion with your best friends."

"I feel comfortable here," Buffy replied with a shrug. She led the way to the study area and the trio sat down with Buffy opposite her two old friends. 'Ironic,' she thought, 'that this conversation is going to take place directly above the Hellmouth, when it kinda represents the whole reason I had to leave them in the first place. Not that I can tell _them_ that.'

"So," she said aloud, "you first."

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance. "Where do you want us to begin?"

"Let's start with why you're here. How did you find me?"

"That's a really funny story actually," Ron told her trying to be casual, "especially the part where we were the ones that figured out where you were when the Order couldn't."

"The Order was looking for me? Why" Buffy really was surprised. Although she knew that were any members of the Order of the Phoenix to come across her would coerce her back to school she found it difficult to believe that they would actively go out looking for her. As far as the Order was concerned she was just a regular witch, her only significance being that her best friend was Harry Potter. Then something else that Ron had said registered. "So you two found me then, not them? As in, it just being the two of you?"

"Yup. Just us. Mum went mental when you left, said you'd probably been forced to leave by your parents. Wanted to give you the option of staying with us while _they_ went off to hide."

Buffy, who was already feeling somewhat emotional, felt her heart catch. Mrs Weasley had always been like a second mom. She'd been very fond of her.

"Dumbledore agreed that you might have gone against your will," Harry added, "but he thought you'd been kidnapped by Death Eaters as a way to get to me. Though I think they eventually realised they were wrong when no ransom notes were sent. After a couple of months the Order just, gave up,"

"But we didn't," Ron piped up. "We thought maybe it was Death Eaters, but to be honest, we didn't care. We just wanted to make sure you were alright. So Harry hired a muggle detectorer and he led us to you."

"A detectorer?"

"He means a detective," Harry clarified. "When I was at home for the summer I found him. Told him as much as I could considering he was a muggle. I think he thought it was a little weird when I told him that the only way to contact me was by owl. He got back to me about two weeks ago."

"That was…actually really clever," Buffy admitted grudgingly. "We hid by muggle means so that really was the most logical way to find us. Most wizards would never think to search that way even though they knew that my family are muggles and I couldn't use magic outside of school."

"That's what we thought. So, the detective, Mr Browne, found a paper trail. Plane tickets, copies of name change documents, the deed to your parents house, photographs. Then of course, your school records." He looked up, and Buffy noticed for the first time that his smile didn't reach his eyes. "We're very disappointed in you Hermione Granger. You used to be such a promising student."

Buffy blushed. "All part of the disguise y'know."

Ron took up the story. "As soon as we got the letter telling us where to find you Harry and I snuck out of school, went to Glasgow and caught one of those heleplanes here. Then we just had to find you, which has turned out to be pretty easy if you don't count the vampire thing last night."

"I can't believe how much trouble you two are gonna be in when you get back. Ron, your mother will _freak_. This is way worse than stealing your dad's car and crashing it into a tree! And Harry! You two are going to be expelled. You shouldn't have done it! I'm not worth that." Buffy couldn't believe they would get in so much trouble for her. Ron and Harry seemed rather amused at her reaction, almost as if they'd been expecting it and it was that that actually calmed her down. Hermione might've been worried about expulsion and detentions and house points, but _Buffy _was always in trouble and had already been expelled from one school. She really wasn't in a position to judge.

"Ok, I'm saying nothing, forget it for now, but I do have one question. What did you do for passports and stuff?" Harry, being muggle raised, might not have a problem getting that kind of thing, but Ron was wizard raised and technically didn't exist in the muggle world.

"Gringotts sorted all that out," Ron told her. "Those goblins'll do anything if you wave enough galleons at them?"

"Galleons?" Buffy exclaimed. "_Now_ I'm saying something. How much did you two spend? No wait, how much did _you_ spend?" she rounded on Harry.

Harry held his hands up as though to defend himself. He glared at Ron for bringing this up. "Money's not an issue Hermione."

"Don't give me that bull."

"It's really not," he insisted. "You mean a lot to me- to us- and I don't care about how much money I had to throw around if it means we get you back."

"Besides Harry's loaded now. Sirius left him everything in his will."

"What!"

"Ron!"

Harry looked really angry now. Buffy just couldn't believe it. "Sirius died?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Just outside the double doors two figures, one tall, one petite, gazed at the scene.

"Can you hear anything?" Xander asked Willow hopefully.

"Nope, but it's definitely those two guys from last night and it seems to be quite an emotional meeting. I just assumed that she'd saved them from a vamp or something, especially with that guy holding his neck. I didn't think she knew them."

"Me either. This is all making the kind of sense that's… not. Why didn't she say anything."

"Should we go in?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N. Sorry about the kinda cliffy, but I wanted to update tonight and this seemed a logical place to cut off.

"This is all making the kind of sense that's… not." Is Oz's line from Becoming pt 2.

Thank you to all those who reviewed.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5.

Buffy couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Sirius was dead? "Harry I'm _so_ sorry," she said quietly. Sirius had been so cool and he'd suffered so much while he was stuck in Azkaban. He'd been a good man. He certainly hadn't deserved to die.

"So what's going on?"

Three heads whipped around to see a tall brunette girl walk into the room. Before the doors could swing shut behind her Buffy caught sight of Xander and Willow standing there with sheepish looks on their faces.

"No, wait. I don't care." Cordelia continued. "Where's Giles? I need a book."

"Uh, hi guys," Buffy said awkwardly as Xander and Willow took the seats either side of her. "Giles isn't here. He said he had a somewhere to be."

"Oh well in't that just typical! The one time I actually _want_ to speak to him Giles decides to get a life. What is he off getting his glasses waxed or something?"

"Hi, I'm Ron Weasley."

Buffy stifled her urge to groan. Could Ron be any more obvious? He was half sitting half standing and his mouth was hanging open. Definite signs of attraction.

"And I am so not interested. Buffy, when Giles gets back let him know that I am _very_ upset with him and that he'd better make it up to me." With a flick of her hair Cordelia turned on her heel and swept out of the library.

"Wow." Ron's mouth was still hanging open.

"Hey, Ron." Buffy said with a grin. "Believe me she is not nicer when you get to know her. She's like a female Malfoy."

Harry snorted.

"Whose Malfoy?" Willow asked innocently.

'Oops.' "Uh..."

"Are you going to introduce us?" Harry asked quickly, obviously sensing that she needed help.

"Sure. Xan, Will, these two are Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, we used to go to school together. Guys, these are my friends Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris. And the girl Ron was drooling over is Cordelia Chase. Oh, and I'm Buffy." This last part she sid rather pointedly looking at Harry and Ron, praying they'd get it.

"Of course you're Buffy, Buff. Who else would you be?" Xander laughed.

"So you guys went to school together. At Hemery?" Willow asked.

"Er-yes. Ron... Buffy and I were really close friends. Did everything together." Harry told them.

"You're British!" Willow exclaimed.

"Yeah."

"Mini-Giles!" Xander chirped. "Cool!"

"They're both British," Buffy said, thinking it best to get this out of the way now. "Moved over here about two years ago."

"Oh that's so cool. What's England like? Do you drink tea a lot like Giles? Or do you like coffee? Do they have coffee in England? Giles hates it," Willow babbled.

"Have you been drinking coffee?" Xander asked her. "'Cos you're acting a little hyper."

"Nope. I'm coffee free. Hate coffee. Ick. Big 'no' to coffee. I'm just excited 'cos I'm meeting Buffy's friends." 

Buffy saw the look that passed between the two British boys. They were completly caught off guard by Willow-speak.

"Yeah, me too." Xander said, "Because we all liked Ford so much."

'Ford? Oh no, they're gonna judge Harry and Ron by Ford? I barely knew him three months how was I supposed to know he was a psycho? This is bad. Subject change needed.' "So what happened to Umbridge?" she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

Ron laughed cynically. "She got sacked. Turned out she was using-what was it Harry? Oh yeah. Unorthodox methods to punish students."

"She got off easy, compared to the others. She deserved worse," Harry muttered angrily.

"She _was_ kinda nasty," Buffy agreed. "Gotta love that curse though."

"Excuse me, but what?"

"Oh, sorry Xander. In Ho- Hemery we had what became known as the uh- _chemistry_ teacher curse." Buffy explained, "every year we had a different teacher. The last one, Umbridge was really the epitome of _not_ nice. At least she didn't try to kill anyone though. She didn't did she?"

"Not exactly. Not like Moody," Ron answered her.

"And before that it was Lupin," Harry interjected. "He was the best of all of them, but he had this illness. Parents didn't like him teaching because of it."

Buffy was surprised that both boys had grasped the fact that they were talking to muggles and needed to watch what they were saying. She didn't know how Ron hadn't slipped up yet. He didn't have much experience with muggles.

"Do you remember Lockhart in second year?" Ron said with a laugh. "Her-Buffy had a huge crush on him."

"Urgh! Do _not_ remind me of that! Just the thought makes me feel sick to the stomach."

"Note to self, mention this Lockhart dude as often as possible," Xander said grinning.

"That turned out to be quite a scandal," Harry told the pair from Sunnydale. "He'd written all these books about the things he had done, but really he was taking credit for other people's work. Of course, now he's in the hospital with amnesia. We saw him there last christmas."

"What were you doing in the hospital?" Buffy asked alarmed. She knew the sort of trouble Harry could get into.

"Visiting. And the year before that it was Quirrel." Harry obviously didn't want to talk about that. "He..."

"He was schizophrenic," Buffy jumped in. "Split personality. Thought he was an evil dark wizard."

The boys all laughed, but Willow's eyes had narrowed as though she was figuring something out.

"Five teachers. You said one a year, so five years?"

"Yeah," Ron said.

"B-but Buffy said you'd only moved to LA two years ago."

Buffy's eyes widened. 'Not good. Why does Willow have to be so smart?'

"Hello," a voice called from te doorway.

"Giles!" Buffy jumped to her feet. "You're back! Good." She was desperately trying to beg for help with only her eyes.

"Yes I am. Buffy are you alright?"

"Uh huh! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Is something wrong with your... Never mind. Willow, Xander, could you please give me a hand in my office?"

"Sure Giles," Willow stood, still looking suspiciously between Buffy, Harry and Ron.

"Yeah G-man. What d'ya need?"

"Xander I've asked you time and again not to call me that."

Buffy figured that this was probably a good time to make an escape. "Well you guys have fun. I'll just take these two and show them around. See ya."

She motioned to the boys to follow and al three hurriedly left.

"Something's not right there. What are they hiding?" Willow wondered out loud.

"Dunno, but I'm thinking background check," Xander told her.

"You'll do no such thing," Giles admonished. "If Buffy does not wish to tell you then you will respect that and not pry. Now I need your assistance with some research..."

As Giles explained what they were looking for Xander and Willow exchanged a look. Whatever the big secret was, Giles was obviously in on it.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So they're your new friends? They seem nice. Possibly Willow is insane," Harry said conversationally as the trio strolled through the park.

"Yup. They're my buds," Buffy smiled fondly. "Couldn't be without them."

"But you can be without us?" Ron sounded hurt.

"No! I didn't mean it like that. I missed you guys so much, but I had to leave. Didn't _want_ to, _had_ to."

"Why? If you'd spoken to Dumbledore he would have been able to help. The Order could have protected your parents."

"Harry you don't get it," Buffy said seriously. "It wasn't just about protection. It was about school. When they heard the things we were getting up to mom and dad just got scared. They thought that one day I just wouldn't come back. It didn't help that I was spending almost every holiday with you guys as well. They rarely saw me and then they hear these tales about Dementors and werewolves and, well, Voldemort."

Ron gasped. "You said the name!" he exclaimed pointing at her.

"It seemed kinda silly being scared of a name, especially from this far away."

"Who told your parents?" Harry asked trying to get back on topic.

"Merrick. I don't think he realised that they didn't know. They were _so_ mad and hurt that I hadn't trusted them enough to tell them myself. They were sending me daily owls telling me to come home." Buffy sighed pensively. "Then Merrick came to talk to me that halloween in the Three Broomsticks. He got me so mad. Said I was selfish, putting magic above my parents lives. When I calmed down I realised he was right. I packed that night and left." Buffy was proud of the story. She'd been thinking about it all day when she should have been paying attention to her classes and figured the best way forward was to keep the story as close to the truth as possible. So far she'd not lied directly, only leaving out refernces to slaying, destiny and prophecies.

"Will you come home with us?" Ron asked abruptly.

Buffy stared at him. "I can't Ron. I want to, but I'm needed here."

"Needed?" Harry's head whipped round. "What do you mean by needed?"

'Me and my big mouth.' "Mom! Dad left us so if I left to then she'd be all alone. I couldn't so that to her. And I have school and my friends."

"But it's all a lie," Harry insisted. "Buffy Summers is a lie. You are Hermione Granger! You belong at Hogwarts with us, not here pretending to be some dim cheerleader. It's just not you."

""Buffy Summers _is_ me. Every bit as much as Hermione Granger."

"No she's not! Hermione Granger was top of every class, she was smart, no not smart, _brilliant_ and she was always there for us. Buffy Summers is failing every class, spends all her time getting in trouble for no good reason and the only similarity I can see is that they both like to spend a lot of time in the library."

"How dare you judge me?" Buffy demanded when Harry took a breath. "You have no idea what I've been doing since I left you. I had to give up magic. My dad walked out on us because he finally decided that he couldn't deal with a daughter like me, I got expelled from school and had to move to this godforsaken town."

"Well what about me?" Harry yelled back. "One of my best friend just leaves one day and all we get is a note, I had to suffer visions from Voldemort and half the school thinking I'm delusional and _Umbridge._ The Sirius_ died._ He was the closest thing I've ever had to a parent and now he's _dead._"

Part of Buffy was keen to tell Harry exactly what she had suffered in their time apart, but the bigger, more compassionate part was too busy feeling sorry for her friend. She stepped towards him. "Harry I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you," in another step she was right up close and reached out to him. "I'm sorry," she said again and hugged him. She looked at Ron over Harry's shoulder. "Wanna tell me how lousy your year has been?"

"It wasn't so bad," Ron shrugged. "Apart from you not being there. And dad was attacked by You-Know-Who's snake, but he's fine now. And Sirius. I got to play Quidditch."

"Your dad? Is that why you were at the hospital at christmas?" Buffy asked letting go of Harry.

"Yeah," he said. "So I wanted to ask you something."

"Subject change. That's cool. Shoot."

"That's it exactly. What's with the accent? Shoot what? Some of the things you say sound like Gobbledegook. Can't you drop it while it's just the three of us?"

"Actually, no. I can't."

"It's a spell?"

"Yeah, but not your ususal kind. Merrick was pretty insistent that we blend in so as to not draw attention to ourselves, but he didn't want us dependant on spells in case they ever wore off at a bad time. He found this nifty little charm that slowly wears off after time. As it's power fades your own brain kinda makes up for it. Eventually the spell is completely worn off, but its effects keep on going. Like the Energiser Bunny."

"The what bunny?" Ron frowned. "Is that like eklekric?"

Buffy just laughed. "I've missed you Ron."

"What about the other changes?" Harry asked getting back into the conversation. "How did you get your hair so... not bushy? And how are you not top of every class?"

"Well the hair was easy. Muggle products and hair dye. I needed to look different and my hair was what stood out the most about me. Changing my attitude was a little harder, but eventually I realised that I didn't care what people thought and it got easier. Then dad left and I had all this pent up rage, which helped. Buffy does not blindly follow authority figures like Hermione did and she ain't half so meek and mild."

"We noticed that," Harry said conversationally. "So are your school marks part of the disguise too?"

"Not really. I would've liked to have at least kept up with classes. A lot of the problem is time management. I have a lot of stuff going on and I'm still trying to learn magical theory. Compared to that I just don't place the same importance on my muggle studies. And I was way, way, way behind before I even started. Until we moved to the States I hadn't done things like math for four years. It got a lot harder in that time. It's been almost impossible to catch up. Of course that implies that I have caught up, which I haven't. Oh and history, which is by far my worst subject, is even worse. I had six years worth of Europpean history lessons, then four years of magical history and suddenly I'm supposed to do American history! In what alternate universe am I ever going to be able to keep up?" Buffy looked up to see Harry and Ron staring at her. "Ok. Rant over," she said sheepishly.

"Don't worry. We even missed your rants," Harry told her.

"I'll bet."

"Did you _really_ get expelled from your old school?" Ron asked.

Buffy winced. "Uh, kinda."

"But you're Hermione! You don't break rules."

"It was a _total _misunderstanding."

"How about all that other trouble you've been in. We saw your files remember? Detentions, fights, skiving off... you name it." Ron seemed almost amused. "Does that mean we can skive off when we're back at Hogwarts and you won't lecture us?"

"It was, uh, ok. What do you know about this town?" She figured she should stick to the truth as much as possible. Just leaving a few major details out.

Ron pulled a face. "Were we supposed to research it?"

"No, silly. It's just. This town has a reputation for weird occurrences. Most people shrug them off, say they were mistaken, it was a trick of the light, gangs on PCP. Anything but the truth."

"Which is?" Harry asked slowly as if unsure he would like the answer.

"Hellmouth. Under the town. It attracts the darker creatures like vampires." It wasn't dangerous to tell them this as Hellmouths were usually a fifth year topic.

"There's one here? That's incredible," Harry said with interest. "But I don't understand what this has to do with..."

"The muggles can't defend themselves from what they think doesn't exist. Some of my friends and I, we're kinda like a vigilante group I suppose. Unfortunately it's given us a reputation as troublemakers, but we get by. We've saved some lives."

"You saved _my_ life," Ron said gratefully.

Harry was thinking. "That's why you won't leave? You feel you need to stay here and protect the muggles."

"Sounds like something Harry would do," Ron muttered.

"Surely your friends can manage without you." Harry's startlingly green eyes locked with her hazel ones. "We need you too."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So what d'ya got?" Xander asked dropping into a chair next to Willow.

"Maybe something," the redhead replied not looking up from the computer screen. "I checked Hemery's records and neither Ron Weasley or Harry Potter were ever registered there."

"So we know they're lying. That's good except that we already knew that. Anything else?"

"Mmm. I'm gonna check Buffy's records. If they were really that close they may have been in clubs together or something." Not five seconds later Willow gasped.

"What? What is it?"

"Buffy Summers was only registered at Hemery for three months. From November 10th 1996 to February 18th 1997. That was when she was expelled. She came here almost right after."

"So what are you saying? Buffy went to some other school first? Where? Was she expelled from there too?"

"I dunno, but let's not jump to conclusions. There could be a perfectly logical explanation," Willow rationalised. "I'll check the other schools in LA, maybe she went to one of those."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'll try to update as often as possible, but my laptops broken and my brother is usually on his himself. Will do my best though.

**CallRose4ever** chapters are getting a bit longer, hope you enjoyed this.

**Allen Pitt** Have you been reading my story notes? Some of your comments have come very close to the mark.

**BlueDove** Don't worry the action starts in the next chapter.

**Tanydwr** I have large amounts of notes and timelines etc that I used in the planning of this fic. Hopefully I'll get all the details right without changing too much from canon, but feel free to let me know if I get anything wrong. For example in season 1 ('Nighmares' I think) Buffy says she was the Slayer for a year before coming to Sunnydale. It doesn't say _where_ she spent that year. As she was already the Slayer before going to LA in this fic she must have spent some of that time at Hogwarts. I'm also sure that Buffy was 16 by the time she reached Sunnydale and as her birthday is in January (I think and so is Hermione's in this fic-yes I know in canon it's September) that means season 1 takes place around February to June. As I said, feel free to correct me. This story is AU as of 'The Dark Age' so at this point I'm thinking it's around early December. So Buffy has been in Sunnydale for about 10 months.

Hope that clears up some things without giving too much away.

Dozy.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6.

Harry, Ron and Buffy talked until the sun started going down and Buffy volunteered to walk the boys back to their hotel. Her Slayer senses told her there was a vampire somewhere nearby, but she didn't want to leave them wandering the town alone to get attacked by something. They were Harry and Ron after all. They could find trouble if you tied their hands together, shut them in a room and surrounded them with aurors.

"Hello Potter," the voice was somewhat familiar.

'Yup, there's trouble. Right on time.'

The park was pretty empty by now. Most Sunnydale residents made a point of being away from such places by nightfall although they were never quite sure why. This meant that the three of them were completely alone. If you didn't count the six robed figures standing in a rough semi-circle between them and the gate.

"Death Eaters," Harry snarled drawing his wand.

"You did us a favour by leaving when you did Potter." The cultured drawl of Lucius Malfoy came from behind one of the masks. "We never could have taken you from under the nose of that muggle loving fool and our Master so wishes to see you again."

Buffy was weighing up the odds of this fight. Six against three. Difficult, but not impossible provided Harry and Ron could hold their own. Of course she didn't have her wand, but since when did she let something like that stop her.

"I see Voldemort decided you were worth breaking open Azkaban for Malfoy, though I can't see why. Last time we met you and eleven of your friends were defeated by five teenagers," Harry said scathingly.

"Yes, I shall have to repay you for that," Malfoy said sneeringly. "The Dark Lord didn't say you had to be intact."

"Oh joy. The part of the fight where we amuse each other with our witty repartee. Just this once can we skip it?" Buffy asked contemptuously. "Although I do wanna hear that story later."

"And who is this Mr Potter? Your girlfriend perhaps? Would you like to see her die first? Come along quietly and I'll make sure she feels no pain."

Apparently Malfoy didn't recognise her. Not surprising really. The few times they had been in the same room together over the years he hadn't paid much attention to her. She was probably beneath his notice as a muggle born and without her trademark bushy hair she knew she looked different.

"Leave her alone," Ron said bravely trying to step in front of her, but Buffy just pushed him back.

"I'm hurt Mr Malfoy," she said sweetly. "I thought I was unforgettable. Your son and I used to be such good friends. He used to call me mudblood and that one time I slapped him around the face." She sighed. "Those were the days."

In three strides Malfoy was right in front of her. He grabbed one arm and pulled her to him. Buffy fought the Slayer in her down, but every muscle in her body tensed, ready for a fight. She was aware of Harry and Ron yelling for him to let her go.

He was holding that nasty cane of his in his free hand and he brought it around to lightly caress her face. "Is it really the mudblood Granger?" he asked in a near whisper. "I heard you had gone missing. My dear you _have_ grown up well."

"Ew! Sleazebag!" She shook her arm free to break his grip, then in one fluid motion grabbed his cane in both hands and brought it down over her knee. It snapped easily and she swung it upwards catching Malfoy in the face with the snake end. As the cane broke Buffy thought she could feel something almost seeping out of it.

With a cry he turned his back on her, ripping the mask off and throwing it to one side. Out of the corner of her eye Buffy could see her friends gazing at her with their mouths hanging open. She smiled. She hadn't even used Slayer strength or speed.

"Kill them!" Malfoy yelled angrily, "except for Potter. The Master wants that pleasure for himself."

Buffy felt somewhat satisfied to see the blood on his cheek. Not as deep as it could've been, the mask had probably taken some of the impact.

"Let me have the girl," one of the figures hissed. He lowered his hood to reveal the contorted face of a vampire. "She looks tasty."

"Can you handle the vampire?" Harry murmured coming out of his shock.

"Yeah. Think you can deal with the rest 'til I get back?"

"Yes I think that would be a fitting punishment," Malfoy sneered at Buffy.

"Get back from where?" Harry whispered.

The vampire bagan to move towards her.

"Don't worry." Then she said so everyone could hear her, "you're going to let him _eat _me?Are you _crazy_?" She did her best to make her voice sound high pitched and scared, putting a terrified look on her face. Then she turned and ran. After a second the vampire took off after her.

She knew she had to take this fight to a more suitable location if she wanted to keep her secret. She could live with Harry and Ron finding out, but didn't want the Death Eaters reporting back to Voldemort to tell him about how little Hermione Granger had single handedly slain a vampire.

Behind her she could hear the sounds of curses being thrown and prayed that her boys could handle it, but the moment she burst through the trees it was all muffles except for the sounds of running feet and her own harried breathing.

Finally she stopped, sure she couldn't be seen from the gates and turned to face the vampire. He stumbled to a halt with a confused expression. Clearly he hadn't expected this.

"Are you tired already? I've barely worked up an appetite."

"You vampires can't resist a damsel in distress can you? Well that's not me. My mother always taught me to stand and fight my demons."

"Is that right?" the vampire sounded delighted. "I'm a demon. Are you going to _fight me_?"

"If you insist." Buffy had dropped her bag back by the Death Eaters so didn't have a stake, but she still held the pieces of Malfoy's cane in her left hane. Moving quickly she lunged at her new opponent hoping for an easy staking, but he dodged away.

They circled each other, the vampire seemed confident so she doubted he knew she was the Slayer. He came at her swiftly, but she spun out of the way, kicking him in the chest, ducked a blow from his fist and followed it up with a punch of her own.

They both backed off a few steps and circled again, the vampire seemed warier now. "You are strong," he said, "but I am stronger."

This time he dived for her legs. She tried to sidestep him, but he caught her ankle and she went down.With a flip she was back on her feet and jumping as he tried to sweep her legs out from under her. As he stood she delivered a hard blow to his face and tried to follow it up with another, but he caught her right hand in his left and squeezed hard. With his free hand he reached into his cloak and pulled out a knife.

Buffy could feel the bones in her right hand grinding together and wasn't particularly happy about the knife either so she kicked out and up, trying to knock it from his hand, even as he raised it above his head to strike, but he held on.

She pivoted under his arm as though they were dancing and he lost his grip on her hand. Getting in close she staked him with the cane. Even as he burst into ashes he brought the knife down on her arm.

"Hey" I liked this sweater," Buffy fumed. "Why is it that all my favourite clothes get shredded, gunged or all bloody thanks to the forces of darkness? Vampires are so evil!"

She turned back to where she has left the boys, flexing her hand. Nothing was broken, but she was gonna get one hell of a bruise.

"What the..." Buffy had reached the treeline, but there were no Death Eaters in sight. However there were a fair number of brightly dressed individuals milling about. She could see Ron's red hair and Harry's messy mop from here. They were talking to someone with spiky pink hair. Tonks. The Order was here.

Buffy sighed. There was no point hiding. Harry and Ron had probably already told them that she was here. As she approached she could here Mad-Eye Moody- a grisly haired auror with a wooden leg and magical eye talking to the infamous Professor Albus Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard alive.

"Potter and Weasley say they're sure it was Granger. They say she took off with a vampire on her heels and ran into the woods."

"Then we should search for her. Even if the boys are mistaken we should make certain she is alright."

"If she's dead we should stake her, make sure she never rises as a vampire."

"Let us hope that it doesn't come to that," Dumbledore said heavily.

"It won't," Buffy said, coming up to them. "I'm here."

"Hermione!" Ron yelled running up with Harry on his heels. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine."

"The Order showed up at about the same time you and that vampire got to the trees," Harry told her. "The Death Eaters apparated away not long after. We wanted to come and find you, but they wouldn't let us."

"Don't worry. I took care of him," Buffy said quietly.

"How?" Moody asked suspisciously. "Weasley said you ran away and it followed. What did you do?"

"I call it my 'scared little girl' act. People tend to underestimate me. I let them think they're right. I run, they catch me and they're dust before they even realise I have a stake." So it wasn't the whole truth, but it was close enough.

"You've fought vampires before?" Dumbledore asked her. More Order members were approaching as they spoke.

"In this town? How can you not?" Buffy shrugged.

"Ah, of course. The Hellmouth."

"Yeah, that."

"How do we know she's really Granger?" Moody demanded. "She could just be saying that to get close to Potter."

"She really is Hermione," Harry insisted. "_We_ found_ her._ We can show you the paperwork back at school."

"I might take you up on that lad, but paperwork can be faked. We should have some veritaserum brewed up and question her," Moody said gruffly.

"Now Alastor there is a much simpler way to determine her identity," Dumbledore intervened. "Miss Granger, if that is indeed who you are, could you please answer me one question. In your first year Professor Hagrid had a rather special pet. What was it's name?"

"That depends." Buffy saw Moody smirk at that, sure she didn't know the answer. "Did you mean Norbert the dragon or Fluffy the three headed dog?" Buffy smiled innocently.

Dumbledore twinkled at her. "Very good Miss Granger. It is a pleasure to see you again."

"Wotcher Hermione," Tonks grinned at her.

"_Where are they_?" a new voice shrieked.

Ron's face paled. "oh, no. Mum."

"Ron! Harry!" Mrs Weasley was there and pulling them both into fierce hugs. "You had me so worried." She straightened up then. "You just _left_! No note! You could have been _killed_! Whatever possessed you to..."

"Mum," Ron said loudly, cutting Mrs Weasley's rant short. "We found Hermione." His ears had gone bright red, a sure sign of embarrassment.

"Hermione? Where?" Her eyes scanned the crowd.

Buffy stepped forward bracing herself. "I'm here Mrs Weasley."

"Oh! Hermione!" Buffy felt herself being dragged into a tight embrace. The Slayer part of her that was still coming down from the fight wanted to push her away, but Buffy resisted. "I thought Death Eaters had taken you. Praise Merlin that you're alright. And... Hermione, dear, you're bleeding." Mrs Weasley began pulling on her sleeve, trying to get a closer look at the wound on her arm.

"I'm fine, Mrs Weasley, really."

"Now don't be silly, dear. Let me look."

"No," Buffy shrugged her off. "It's just a scratch. Nothing to worry about." It _was_ fairly deep, but she didn't want anyone worrying about a wound that would be mostly healed by morning. You had to love the perks of being a Slayer sometimes. She was fairly sure that her hand was completely bruised by now, but didn't want to look and draw attention to it.

"You kids did well," Moody admitted grudgingly. "Could stand to use more power in your curses. Whoever hit Malfoy with that cutting hex barely grazed him."

"It was a bit more than a graze Mad-Eye," Tonks said cheerfully. "He was bleeding everywhere."

"That wasn't a hex," Ron said proudly. "Hermione did that. He grabbed her and WHAM! Smacked him round the face with his own stick, right after she snapped it in two with her bare hands. It was bloody brilliant!"

"Ronald!" Mrs Weasley snapped and began to chastise him.

Moody chuckled. "I would have liked to see that. Don't suppose those are the pieces you've got there?"

Buffy had forgotten she was still holding them, probably because that hand was in a fair bit of pain. She nodded and handed them to him.

Moody grinned, looking somewhat scary with his heavily scarred face. He eagerly took the two halves of the cane. "Lucius took this everywhere he went. I always wanted to get my hands on it. It's probably got all sorts of enchantments on it."

Buffy nodded unconvinced. If it had been enchanted she was sure she'd have felt it. Since becoming the Slayer she'd had a sixth sense for anything magical, though ususally she had to be pretty close to feel it. Then she remembered the feeling she'd gotten when the cane had snapped. Maybe there was spells on it.

"Oh and Granger, get that hand looked at."

Buffy glanced around to see that pretty much all of the Order were otherwise engaged except for Moody and Dumbledore. Mrs Weasley was alternately scolding and hugging Ron. She looked at her hand. The knuckles were slightly swollen and purple looking. "I will," she murmured quietly, then moved off to find her stuff. With any luck she could get out of here before...

"Miss Granger. A word?" Dumbledore was beckoning her away from the group.

Buffy frowned. She knew exactly what this would be about and right now couldn't think of a way out of it. "Yes, Professor."

"I don't want to hear everything tonight," he told her seriously, "but I will want to hear the full story. I think we should meet in my office tomorrow."

"Your office? In Hogwarts? I can't. I can't leave."

"Miss Granger... Hermione. I know your parents aren't happy with your status as a witch, but I am sure they will see sense. I will talk to them personally if necessary."

"It's not necessary. I'm not going back because I don't want to. You _can't _force me."

"Unfortunately I can't. However I cannot simply leave you here now that the Death Eaters know where you are. They _will_ come back. Lucius Malfoy in particular will be eager to return and capture you to draw Mr Potter out and to finish what he started after you marked him here tonight. He will not have taken that well and I imagine Voldemort will have punished him severely for losing here."

"Understatement."

"And," Dumbledore looked truly regretful,"he will not hesitate to attack those you love to draw you out, he takes a vindictive pleasure in such things. Even with magic you cannot protect them all the time. If you truly love them you will come back with us. I don't believe even Lucius Malfoy will find reason to return here once word gets out that you have come back to school. Your parents can be protected much more easily closer to home."

"They are protected." Buffy looked at him desperately. "I don't want to say how out here. Someone might overhear, but trust me they're safe." Of course what she had in mind would only work if she were far away.

'Darn Dumbledore. He's covered all the bases and he's right. I can't always protect them, but if I'm not here they'll be safe 'cos no one can associate them with Hermione Granger.' "Ok. I'll go back, but you gotta give me some time to say goodbye to some people. Get my things together, ya know?" Giles would think of something.

"Excellent. In that case..." he picked up an empty soda can, wand in hand, "_Portus_," and handed it to her. "This portkey will activate at precisely 10pm tomorrow. I'm afraid I can't give you any more time. It is simply too big a risk."

"Ok. Tomorrow at ten." She went to leave, but Dumbledore stopped her.

"One more thing. _Locatus_," he said waving his wand at her. Buffy could feel the locator charm sink into her skin and resisted the urge to shudder. It was _not_ a pleasant feeling.

"What the Hell? How _dare_ you?" Buffy exploded. Every Order member was now watching them. Ron seemed to be grinning at her open defiance of an authority figure.

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore said placatingly. "I am taking a risk in allowing you even a day to prepare yourself. It is doubtful that the Death Eaters will return in that time, but the possibility is there. I want to be able to find you if they decide to kidnap you."

Buffy was really starting to hate Dumbledore about now. She couldn't even yell at him because she knew from experience that he would never change his mind and all she'd accomplish would be getting the Order mad at her for being so ungrateful to the great Albus Dumbledore. "Fine," she huffed.

"Is everyone ready to leave?" Dumbledore adressed the Order. "Mr Potter, Mr Weasley, you and I will make a slight detour to retrieve your things then we will return to Hogwarts. I'm afraid I cannot allow you to remain here. You will see Miss Granger tomorrow."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After the Order had left Buffy did a quick sweep of the cemetaries hoping to work out her anger. She found one or two fledglings, but nothing to really challenge her. Finally giving up she trudged over to Giles' place hoping he'd have some brilliant plan to get her out of this. With any luck he'd have an intellectual moment and she would never have to have the worst conversation of her life with her mother.

Giles wasn't home so she headed over to the library. Fifteen minutes later she was striding through the double doors calling, "Giles, we have a serious problem," before she realised just how many people were there. "What's going on?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: So there you go, another chapter. One or two things I just wanted to say quickly. One, I know absolutely no Latin so any spells I make up will probably be very wrong, but I don't care. Two, I know the time difference between the UK and the east coast is 5 hours, but what is it for the west coast? Anyone know? Please tell me.

**Allen Pitt** You naughty reviewer. I knew you'd been peeking. I'll think about some of those suggestions, you never know I might do it.

**Nikki** I know they seem a little annoying, but this isn't long after the Ford fiasco so they're just worried. Don't worry, Buffy will yell at them next chapter.

**NightyNightUK **You have me worried. I updated extra quick, just for you, though don't expect the next one to be so fast, my brother is breathing down my neck to get his PC back. Am I strange to be happy about threats of bodily harm? I've never had them before, but I'm taking this one to mean you're enjoying, hence the happiness.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed.

Dozy.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7.

"Angel?"

"Buffy," the dark vampire said sombrely. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. It's something I really need to discuss with Giles alone."

"Has it got something to do with your friends?" Willow asked. "Like, I dunno, who they _really_ are?"

"What?"

"They're wizards" Angel stated calmly.

There was instant pandemonium.

"What?" This time the exclaimation came from Willow, Xander and Cordelia.

"How did you know?" Buffy gasped.

"How did we get to wizards?" Xander asked, his voice rising.

"Wizards! Wow!" Willow breathed.

"Wizards really exist?" Ms Calendar called out.

"Is that like a boy witch?" Cordelia frowned slightly.

"Since when are wizards real?" Xander was nearly hysterical.

All this and more was being said pretty much at once so Buffy was relieved when a shrill whistle silenced them all. They turned to Giles.

"I think perhaps we should all calm down," he said. There were no objections so he continued. "Now, Buffy. Willow and Xander have been doing research into your other friends. You can probably guess what they found."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh!" Xander sneered.

"Is this what you called me here for? Buffy's lame friends. Why should I care?" Despite her words Cordelia made no move to leave.

"We checked their records, they never went to Hemery and you were only enrolled there for three months," Willow said in one breath. "I even checked the other schools in LA, but you never went to any of them and I found flight records for Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley from Glasgow to LA just a few days ago, but can't find where they were before that." She took a deep breath. "I think Harry Potter is just too common a name in England and Weasley is so much rarer that I can't find _anyone_ with that surname anywhere. I don't think that can really be his name."

"Buffy, I think you should tell them the truth," Giles told her quietly. "It would make things easier for you."

Buffy herself had already decided she would have to come up with a very convincing story or come clean and she was all out of fairy tales. Besides Buffy only just had enough strength left right now to get angry.

"How could you?" she asked Willow in a deathly quiet voice. "How could you invade my privacy like that?"

"How could we? How could you? You lied to us. You've been lying to us since the day we met," Willow said accusingly.

"No! I never lied. I left a hell of a lot out, but I _never_ lied. But you went behind my back and that is a serious violation of trust."

"How were we supposed to just trust these two when the last time you had a friend appear out of the blue he tried to sacrifice you to Spike and his gang?"

"We just wanted to watch your back Buff," Xander said, serious for once. "We were concerned. But _now_ I'm concerned that your boyfriend brought up wizards earlier and we're not discussing _that_."

Buffy deflated. Why did everyone prevent her from really letting her anger out. They all had to have such perfectly reasonable excuses or were worried about her and how could she really get mad about that?

"Ok. Everyone sit down. I've got one helluva story to tell you and before I do, you need to know that it can't go any further. Ever. I know you can all keep a secret, you've proven that, but if you don't want another one-and trust me this one's a doozy- then leave now." Everyone stayed where they were. "Great. Please just let me tell it. Don't interrupt unless you have something important to say, 'cos I really need to get home and speak to mom and I can't sit here all night answering questions. As of about thirty minutes ago my time here is limited." She held a hand up to Giles to forestall the question she knew he'd ask.

Looking around at their faces Buffy could tell that Giles was concerned about what she had just implied. Willow seemed relieved Buffy wasn't yelling at her, Xander and Ms Calendar were clearly curious about whatever was going on and Cordelia had affected a bored expression. Angel was as unreadable as ever.

"Ok. Good. Here goes. I was born in England and my name was Hermione Granger."

"You're British!" Xander cried pointing.

"Xander what did I say about interruptions?"

"Oh. Sorry." He mimed zipping his mouth closed.

"_Yes._ I'm British. My mom and dad were dentists. We lived in London, a perfectly normal life for a perfectly normal family, until I was eleven. Then I got a letter. It was weird, written on this really heavy paper- or parchment. The adress was incredibly specific, they even knew which bedroom I slept in. It was from a school. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to be exact.

"At first we thought it was a hoax, until this woman came to the door. She was pretty scary, I'd bet she could make Snyder wet his pants, but she wasn't evil like him. Her name was Professor McGonagall and she said she was a teacher at Hogwarts. Mom and dad thought she was a psycho. But then she turned into a cat right in front of us!"

"So magic is real?"

Everyone turned to look at Willow incredulously.

She blushed. "Oh right. I already knew that. Pretend I didn't say the very embarrassing thing."

Buffy smiled. "McGonagall took us to this amazing place called Diagon Alley. It was hidden behind a pub in London, but it was huge. There was this whole society of witches and wizards living right under our noses! And that wasn't all. There were Hags just walking down the street and no one batted an eye..."

"I don't see what's so special about that," Cordelia butted in. "Not everyone can be beautiful. I've always said that they should lock up the uglier people, but no one ever listens to me."

Buffy ignored her. "And goblins were running the bank. There were shops selling flying broomsticks, potions ingredients, magic books and even wands. It was so amazing. Of course, the first thing I did when I got home was read through every single book I had bought."

"You read a book? _Voluntarily_?" Willow said doubtfully.

"Believe it or not I used to be a book geek. In my primary school they would call me 'know-it-all.' I was far from popular, but it didn't matter to me as long as I could lock myself away with a book. I guess that's why I was kinda keen to enter the magical world. I wasn't leaving anything behind." And it would be all the harder to reenter it now that she would be.

"Talk about never really knowing a person," Willow said, mostly to herself.

"You do know me. Just not witchy me."

"I can't believe that there are real wizards and witches walking around out there," Ms Calendar said morosely. "I've dabbled in witchcraft, but I don't really have any power. I had started to think that maybe it wasn't really possible."

"You didn't meet Amy's mom," Xander said sardonically. "Be glad of that."

Giles put a hand on Ms Calendar's shoulder. "There are two types of magic. Wicca is the kind that Jenny dabbles in and wand magic, which is much more reliable as far as I can tell. Buffy would know for certain, having studied it."

"That's right as far as it goes. Wicca is magic that comes from nature. Anyone can learn to be a wicca, as that kind of witch is only a conduit for a power that is not her own, which is why they sometimes get addicted to it. That kind of power flowing through you can be a bit of a rush or so I've read. It's mostly based on calling on spirits or gods to do your bidding. The more magic you use the stronger you become because you are becoming a more stable conduit. Wand magic comes from within the person themselves which is why they have to be born to it. The wand is _your_ conduit although some wizards have managed to perform wandless, but it's pretty rare. How powerful a witch or wizard is depends on how much of their magic they can access. That can be affected by your wand and how good a match it is to you- I don't know why you're looking at me like that Xander, I told you I used to be a book geek- this guy I went to school with, Neville, had a lot of trouble accessing his magic so his spells ended up pretty weak. My magic was mediocre, until I became the Slayer and Harry's has always been very powerful."

"So _that's_ how you know those two. You went to Hoggy- your magic school together?"

"Got it in one Xan. I met Harry and Ron on the train to school, but we didn't exactly hit it off right away. They thought I was a nerd and I didn't appreciate how they were always losing house points and doing other stupid things like they were _trying_ to lose points, like agreeing to duel the school bully after curfew."

"Wait, are we talking boarding school here?" Xander asked incredulously. "As in uniforms and dorm rooms and corporal punishment?"

"Yes to the first two, no to the third, though the caretaker would definitely like to bring it back. If the teachers wanted to punish a student they'd take house points or give detentions."

"House points? What's that?" Cordelia asked disdainfully.

"The school is divided into four. Each group is called a house. They are Gryffindor, which was my house, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. The four houses compete in school and sports and at the end of the year the one with the most points wins. It's a thing. Everyone gets very invested in it."

"So how did you all make friends?" Willow wanted to know. "I mean, if you didn't like each other and all."

"Funny story. A troll got into the school. I was in the girls bathroom and it came in, probably smelled me. I thought I was gonna die. I was eleven and cornered by a troll in a _bathroom_. I was terrified. Then Harry and Ron came in after me. Saved my life. It was incredibly brave, but then the teachers came in and they were gonna blame Harry and Ron so I made up this story to get them off the hook. From that moment on we were inseperable. They used to call us the 'Golden Trio.' A lot of people wanted in, but we were very exclusive. Mostly because we knew a lot of those people only wanted to get close to Harry."

"Why?" Ms Calendar asked curiously.

"Because he's Harry Potter. The-Boy-Who Lived and," Buffy saw Angel's eyes widen, "you've heard of him before."

Everyone was looking at Angel in surprise. "You're not the only one who's been keeping that world a secret. When I was alive I was a wizard."

"You were a wizard too?" Ms Calendar excalimed. "This is unbelievable." Buffy got the feeling she was a little bit jealous.

"So how does that work now?" Giles queried. "I was under the impression that vampires couldn't use magic."

"I was turned a few years after I finished school. Although I was fully qualified the moment I was turned the magic left my body. Magic can't exist within a vampire, that's why spells cast on us have no effect although indirectly it can still be used to fight us. If Buffy were to conjure a stake she could still kill vampires with it."

"Ooh I read that! And Hermione seems to be making a real comeback today don't she?" Buffy frowned then. "Does that mean you went to Hogwarts?"

Angel nodded. "So the school must be pretty old then," Ms Calendar said slowly.

"About 1000 years. It's even older than me," Angel told her.

'Something else we have in common,' Buffy thought happily. 'Now we have a whole other world to talk about.' "But that was over 200 years ago so how do you know about Harry?"

"I may no longer be a wizard, but I still have access to the community and I know the signs of magical activity," Angel said softly. "I know that about fifteen years ago everyone in the wizarding worls was talking about someone they wouldn't name. Had 'em all pretty terrified. Then suddenly there's partying in the streets and people walking about in robes in the open and they're saying that a baby killed the Dark Lord. I don't know many details, but I do know that the kids name was Harry Potter and they were calling him the Boy-Who-Lived."

"So Harry's famous here too then," Buffy said pityingly. "He'll hate that."

"So what's the full story? A baby killed an evil wizard. Is he Luke Skywalker? Is it some kind of 'I am your father' deal? Or is he like a male Slayer? 'Cos that would be cool."

"None of the above Xander. Harry's completely normal," Buffy said forcefully. Seeing they all wanted more details she decided to go straight into it. "It all started about twenty five years ago. This very evil guy, Voldemort, came to power. He wanted to kill a whole bunch of people. Mostly people like me whose parents are normal or anyone who isn't magical. He thought only those of magical descent deserved to be able to use magic. Everyone was scared. He terrorised the whole wizarding community. There's this curse he used to kill his victims, which is completely unstoppable and Voldemort used it to kill Harry's parents and then tried to use it on Harry, but it bounced off him and Voldemort disappeared. Harry became famous and everyone thought that it was all over."

"Except now he's back," Angel said with certainty. "Isn't he?"

"Yeah."

Cordelia looked like a light bulb had gone on in her head. "So is that why you left? 'Cos you were scared of this Voldy guy? I thought you were supposed to kill the bad guys."

"That's not it. I was Called a couple of months before he came back. I trained with Merrick, my first Watcher, in secret and I was coping, but then that summer at home my parents found out that I was a target. Not because of being the Slayer, but because I was Harry's friend. We'd been in all kinds of dangerous situations long before I even knew what the Chosen One was. Mom and dad freaked out, they wanted to take me away to protect me. I ran off and spent the rest of the summer with my friends hoping they'd cool off then went back to school in the fall." Buffy sighed regretfully. "I fully intended to ignore my parents wishes and stick with Harry, until I found out that there was this prophecy about me. You see, I'm the first ever witch to be Called and apparently that makes me even more special than just being the Slayer. If Voldemort found out he would do anything to get a hold of me, including going after my parents." Buffy frowned. "I went absolutely crazy trying to find a way to protect them, but came up empty. Merrick caught up with me in person on Halloween, we argued, but he finally convinced me to leave by offering me an alternative."

"That's rough," Ms Calendar said consolingly.

"Merrick helped us move over here, change our names and so forth. He even came up with the spell to change our accents."

"So Merrick was a wizard too?" Willow asked looking from Buffy to Giles. "Are all Watchers wizards?"

"No. Mr Merrick was something of an anomoly. The Council is, of course, aware of the wizarding community, although they do not know that their current Slayer is a witch," Giles said seriously. "He found Buffy, then Hermione, quite by accident while the rest of the Council was at a loss as to her location. He never told them where he found her, or even her name until they moved out here. He was regarded as a loose canon and usually did things his way regardless of the Council's opinion. He and Buffy were well matched in that way."

"Actually that's where I got it from. Merrick died while we were in LA," Buffy took up the story now, "I got expelled and mom and I moved here, but dad decided not to come with. As my new Watcher Giles inherited Merrick's diaries."

"Fortunately no one else read them first. Mr Merrick knew that if anything were to happen to him then Buffy's new Watcher would need to know everything and she was unlikely to share it herself without prodding. The diaries abruptly changed from an account on a nameless young lady to one of Buffy Summers as if it were two different girls. I knew the first one was a witch, but Buffy was not as far as I could tell. I wandered what happened to the first girl and the diary had at one point suggested that Buffy knew and to ask her so I did. She told me all of this."

"So you must have been, like, totally famous among the wizards," Cordelia said with raised eyebrows. "You were friends with this Harry guy and the Slayer. Did you ever cash in on that?"

"While it's true that my name _was _in the paper a few times because of my relationship with Harry-people speculating on the nature of our relationship mostly- they don't know that I'm the Slayer. The only people in England who knew were Merrick and me."

"You never told your best friends?" Ms Calendar asked.

Xander grinned. "That makes ya feel special doesn't it Will? She told us, but not them."

"Yeah, except that she didn't tell us, we found out," Willow said with a slight smile.

"Details, details," he waved a hand dismissively.

"They came close to finding out last night," Angel said in a monotone.

"You saw that?"

"I was passing by. I was going to help, but then you staked her. Then your friends showed up and I figured it was probably a bad time. I did see their wands though and hear them call you Hermione."

"Which would explain how you knew they were wizards."

Angel nodded. "I don't think they would have guessed the truth even if you'd staked her right in front of them. Knowledge of Slayers is very limited in the wizarding world, if they're aware of you at all."

"I know," Buffy replied. "When I first found out who I was I scoured the Hogwarts library for anything on Slayers- how many times do I have to say it Xander? I was a _nerd_- and I didn't find much. And that place is huge. It's like, Giles Heaven. All I got was some references to a girl who came from nowhere and saved a village or rescued some important person. These references were never connected in any way and were always attributed to magic. If wizards do know about Slayers they're keeping it pretty quiet. Even from each other."

There was a long pause then as everyone absorbed the information they had been given, then Cordelia blurted out, "as fun as this has been, what has it got to do with me?"

"Buffy's old friends are here," Giles told her. "It's likely they will want her to return with them."

"Oh. Well tell them 'no' and send them on their way," Cordelia said as if it were obvious. "Is that it?"

"It is _way_ more serious than that," Buffy said, remembering the reason she had come here in the first place. "Hence the big problem I mentioned earlier."

"What happened," Giles was all business now.

"Death Eaters. Voldemort's followers," Buffy clarified on seeing a couple of confused expressions. "They attacked us in the park. There was a vampire there too. I'm hoping that was the only vamp he's got to work for him 'cos undead Death Eaters would be _of the bad. _I managed to stake him wothout anyone seeing, but then the Order showed up."

"Ok all these names are getting a little confusing," Willow said, shaking her head. "Should I be taking notes?"

"There's not gonna be a test Will," Xander said fondly.

"I just wanna make sure I got it all straight," she said defensively.

"The Order of the Phoenix is the anti-Voldemort group. I don't know how things stand now, but a year ago they were the only thing between old Moldy Shorts and him taking over completely."

"Ah, the White Hats," Ms Calendar deduced.

"Mmm. The guys told me earlier that the Order spent some time looking for me. They didn't take the note I left at face value. Thought I'd been kidnapped. Now they've found me they're pretty determined not to lose me again. I convinced them to give me a day before I have to go back to Hogwarts. They agreed on the condition I have a tracking charm placed on me. Not that they asked first." Buffy could still feel the charm Dumbledore had placed on her, beneath her skin, like an itch she couldn't scratch.

"Dear Lord."

"And ya know it's bad when he says _that._"

Willow gasped. "What are you gonna do?"

Buffy grimaced. "At this point I don't think there's much I _can_ do. I guess I'm going back uless Giles has any bright ideas."

"I though you wanted to go back," Giles said sombrely.

"A big part of me does, but now that everyone knows... That's hardly the point though. I _have _to be here. Who else is gonna protect the Hellmouth?"

Giles took off his lasses and cleaned them. "I may have a solution to that."

"You do? Who?"

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I don't want to say anything just yet in case it doesn't come to anything, but I have been thinking on this since our conversation this morning. I'll know for certain before you have to leave."

"If not there are always portkeys," Angel told her thoughtfully. "I'm sure you can figure out how to make them."

"A whatskey?"

"_Port_key Xander. _This_ is a portkey." Buffy fished out the can from her bag. She could feel the latent spell on it.

"Um, Buffy? It's a soda can," Willow pointed out.

"It _was_ a soda can. Now it's an instantaneous method of transport to England."

"Wow," Willow said breathlessly.

"It's a pretty advanced spell though," Buffy said doubtfully, looking to Angel.

"I still think you can do it," he smiled and sat next to her.

"I'm glad someone has some confidence in me," she murmured, leaning against him. "And now I really should get going. I've gotta try and explain this to mom. She's gonna be really mad. She thought she'd gotten me away from all that amd now I'm diving right back in."

"I'll walk you home," Angel offered.

"Thanks. Oh and guys, thanks for taking this so well." She stood, Angel beside her and they made for the doors. "Wait. Before we go. You can't tell anyone about this. There's this Statute of Secrecy, which is a law I have now broken by telling you all this. If anyone ever found out that I'd told you I would be in serious trouble and you'd all have your memories removed."

"Couldn't have told us that before?" Cordelia muttered under her breath.

Buffy looked around. Apart from Angel and Giles every face was almost completely blank. "I'll take that as a yes," she said relieved. "I'll try and stop by tomorrow. To say goodbye."

It was some time before anyone spoke after they left. Giles picked up some books and started putting them away, allowing the others the chance to get to grips with the new information.

It was Cordelia who finally broke the silence. "Can I go now?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Angel reached out and took Buffy's hand in his own and she leaned into him slightly as they walked.

"What are you thinking?" Angel asked her quietly.

"Now _there's_ a loaded question," Buffy said gloomily. "I can't believe how well they took all that in. It was a _lot._ I'm so proud of them all, even Cordelia, except I'm also extremely pissed that Willow and Xander went behind my back like that."

"They care for you," Angel said calmly. "They just want to protect you."

"I know it's just..."

"Just what?"

Buffy looked up at him. "I don't know. Is it wrong to wish they didn't care quite so much? When things happen the way they did tonight, you want the kind of friends who'll let you just get on with it and not interfere. Besides, it's dangerous for them to be so involved with me."

"You care for them too."

"I do." Buffy decided she didn't want to continue that subject. "So what about you? You were a wizard! That's so great. Are any other vampires that I know ex-wizards?"

"A few," Angel said with a crooked smile.

"Ok. You can't get away with that! You _have_ to tell me."

"The Master was. He was an incredibly powerful one at that. He was always boasting about his skills in the mind arts."

"Oh! Is that how he did that hypnosis thing?"

"Yes. It's not actual magic, so he didn't lose the ability once he was turned.

"I've been wondering about that for the longest time. Who else?" Buffy asked, truly interested.

"Darla wasn't, but Spike and Drusilla both were. Drusilla actually sired Spike in Knockturn Alley. He won't talk much about his life as a wizard though, just said that he was one," Angel grinned at her. "I reckon he was a Hufflepuff."

They both laughed and Buffy marvelled, not for the first time, at how expressive Angel was when it was just the two of them. It was like he came to life. "How about Drusilla?"

"Have you ever heard of Cassandra Trelawney?"

"Yeah, she was a famous seer. She predicted a whole bunch of stuff and...oh my God! Are you saying she's Drusilla?"

"Maybe."

Buffy laughed. "That is just too much."

"What's so funny?"

"Her great great granddaughter is currently teaching Divination at Hogwarts. She's the biggest fraud ever. Harry claims he saw her make a true prediction once, but I don't know if I believe it. She was my least favourite teacher in school. Even worse than Snape."

"That's ironic perhaps, given Drusilla's gifts, but I don't see the funny."

"She was always bleating on about how wonderful her great great grandmother was and acting as if she were just as powerful a seer. She's totally riding her reputation to make herself look good. I was imagining them meeting. I would love to see her face when she realised that Cassandra is a vampire and completely Looney Toons to boot."

She laughed again and this time Angel joined in. By now they had reached the Summers residence.

"I don't wanna do this. Can't I just stay here with you?"

"You need to spend time with your mother," Angel said. "She's going to be upset."

"I just don't want to have to say goodbye to you yet."

"Then don't. Just say 'see you later,'" Angel leaned down and kissed her.

Buffy wrapped her arms around his neck. "See you later," she whispered against his lips.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: The last scene was written especially for my reviewers who have been begging me to make this B/A. As if she could ever be with anyone else. Or could she? The Spike and Dru bit was for Allen Pitt who made some excellent suggestions. Hope you all liked.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I'm trying to decide what house Angel would have been in so if anyone has any suggestions please tell me.

To make me smile all you need to do is review.

Dozy.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8.

Buffy wandered into the library at lunch time the next day. She'd had another long conversation with her mom the evening before followed by a sleepless night. It had taken some doing, but Joyce Summers had finally been alright with it, or had at least accepted that she could do nothing to change it.

"Giles?" No answer. Maybe he was off making eyes at Ms Calendar again. She'd go find Xander and Willow first. She turned to leave only to find her path blocked. A pretty black girl stood there stiffly. The girl's hair was pulled back tight and fell down her back in a plait.

"Hi," Buffy said cheerfully. "I'm looking for Giles, the librarian. Have you seen him?"

The girl smiled at her, an unfriendly smile with absolutely no warmth in it.

"Never mind then. I'll catch him later." Before she could leave the strange girl hit her and sent her stumbling back a few feet. "That was rude," Buffy quipped as she ducked a second blow. "I think you should apologise." She kicked the girl in the chest. Whoever she was she was strong, but not a vampire as sunlight was streaming in through the open doors and windows.

"I think you should make me," the other girl said in a heavily accented voice.

"Oh so you _can_ speak. Couldn't just say hello like a normal person could you?" Buffy moved in closer, aiming blows to the girls face, only landing about half, dodging as many kicks and punches as she could. This girl was really good, but Buffy knew she was better. She grabbed the stranger by the shoulders and threw her over the counter, knocking books and papers flying. Buffy went to vault over and press her advantage, but Giles' yells stopped her.

"Buffy" Kendra! What do you think you are doing?"

"Hey, don't yell at me," Buffy said defensively. "She started it. All I did was ask her where you were and she attacked me."

The girl- Kendra apparently- had stood up. "I wanted to see if she was as good as I had been told."

"Who _are_ you? Who is she?" Buffy demanded.

"I am Kendra. The Vampire Slayer."

"You're who now?"

"Her name is Kendra," Giles told her. "She too is a Vampire Slayer."

"Don't tell me you're buying her story," Buffy said unbelievingly. "_I'm_ the Slayer. Not this wannabe."

"Actually you're both Slayers."

"How is _that_ possible? Giles she's lying."

"Buffy please listen to me. When a Slayer dies a new one is Called," Giles began the familiar lecture.

"Yes, I know this," Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Well, then do you remember your meeting with the Master?"

"Of course. How could I forget something as traumatic as..." Buffy faltered. "Dying."

"Yes and it seems that even though you came back it was enough to activate Kendra."

"But I'm alive now."

"Yes, but for a minute or so you were technically dead. And now..." Giles gestured to Kendra.

"Ok, I'll buy it. But why is she _here_?"

"After I spoke to you last night I called her Watcher. He put her on the next flight out here and she arrived this morning. The Hellmouth needs a guardian and if you can't be here then Kendra is the next best thing."

"So you'll be her Watcher now?" Buffy tried not to sound jealous.

"No. Mr Zabuto, Kendra's Watcher, is gathering their things together and arranging their affairs. He will be here in a week or two and is looking forward to the experience of living on a Hellmouth," Giles said seriously. "Kendra will be reporting to me until he gets here."

"Oh." That wasn't so bad then. Buffy didn't think she could stand to think about losing Giles to this new girl while she was in a whole other country. She looked critically at Kendra who was standing behind the counter with her feet apart, arms folded behind her back and looking straight ahead. "Does she always do that? I feel like I'm being replaced by a marine."

"It is customary to stand to attention while in the presence of one's Watcher. It is also respectful," Kendra said rigidly.

Buffy just looked at her, not believing her ears.

"Buffy, you're not being replaced. Well you are, but..." he trailed off. "Kendra, perhaps you could take a look around the town, find your way around to prepare yourself for tonights patrol."

Kendra nodded and left without a word.

Buffy raised her eyebrows until Kendra was completely gone, then she said, "well, she's certainly a barrel of laughs. _Way_ more fun than I could ever hope to be."

"I'll admit that she is somewhat inflexible," Giles concurred. "However she is capable _and_ a Slayer."

"How long have you known? About her?"

"Since a week after your defeat of the Master. The Council rang me, demanding to know why I hadn't reported the fact that you were dead. It seemed another girl had been Called recently."

Buffy was a little hurt. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You were in LA at the time and when you returned I- I just didn't want to upset you further. Your death is a rather sensitive topic and I didn't want to bring it up unless I had to."

"I guess I can understand that. I wouldn't have wanted to talk to me about it either."

Giles was clearly relieved that she was taking it so well. "Did you speak to your mother?"

"Yeah. At first she was wigged. She_ really _doesn't want me going back there, but she let it go when I explained to her that the alternative was even worse. She already knew that a lot of mythical creatures were real, I just told her that we're on a mystical convergence of energy and that all the nastiest monsters are looking to make a home right here in Sunnydale." At Giles' look she added hastily, "I didn't tell her that I'm the Slayer before you start yelling. I don't think she could have taken that on top of everything. I just let her know that this town isn't all that safe. In the end she decided that Hogwarts isn't so bad in comparison."

Just then Willow and Xander came in. "Hey Buff."

"Hi guys. How are you doing?"

"You mean after last nights revelations?" Xander asked. "It's ok. We talked some more after you left. It's a shock, but we're dealing."

"It's a little disconcerting finding out there's a whole society of people out there who have magic wands, but it's not as weird as it could have been," Willow agreed. "We already knew a lot of this stuff existed, it's just more than we expected."

"And _we're_ ok?" Buffy asked desperately.

Willow simply hugged her. "You're leaving tonight. I'm not gonna pretend everything's completely fine after finding out you lived this whole secret life, but I don't wanna spend your last day here fighting."

"Hey, I'm not gonna be gone forever. I'll try and visit, bad guys permitting and like Angel said, there's always portkeys for emergencies. I'll be popping over all the time. You'll never know I'm gone." Buffy knew it was a lie. To keep them safe she had to stay as far away as possible.

"We'd better not," Xander said, grinning. "What'll we do without our daily dose of Buff?"

Buffy laughed. "You guys are all invited to dinner tonight. Mom wants to send me off properly."

"Ooh food! We'll be there," Xander said.

"Good. Well I'd better get home, I still have to pack."

"You're leaving it rather late. You only have a few hours left," Willow pointed out.

Buffy shrugged. "I never unpacked a lot of my magical stuff. I just need to get some clothes together. My uniform won't fit anymore so I'll need to get new stuff there. I was gonna pack this morning, but mom thought we should speak to Snyder about me being 'home schooled' from now on. I have never seen him look so happy. Evil little dwarf. Besides which, I wanted to collect the books I left here and I'll need some weapons just in case- oh, and I wanted to give you this."

Buffy reached into her bag and pulled out a large tome. She handed it to Willow.

" 'Hogwarts: A History,'" Willow read aloud. "Cool. This is all about your school?"

"I've read it so many times I practically have it memorised," Buffy said slightly embarrassed. "Ron always used to give me a hard time about that. Y'know I still can't believe I'm really going back. After everything that's happened it feels strange to be returning to where it all started."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dinner that evening was a little strained. Buffy was too nervous to make small talk. All she could think of was that she'd soon be at Hogwarts. She'd be learning magic again. Joyce Summers was a little resentful that her only daughter was leaving for England when they'd worked so hard to leave it all behind. Xander and Willow were still feeling a little uncomfortable with the whole Buffy is really Hermione and a witch thing. Giles was the only one whose emotions weren't in turmoil, but his few attempts at conversation soon faltered and died. Eventually he just gave up and the meal concluded in silence.

Buffy had stashed her things in a corner ready to go. Everything but her wand and a stake, both of which were hidden about her person.

"Can we see your wand?" Willow burst out, breaking the silence. "Unless of course you don't wanna. Or is it considered taboo to ask that? I don't want you to think I'm rude."

"It's ok Will," Buffy pulled out her wand from her sleeve. "Oak. Nine inches. The core is the heartstring of a Chinese Fireball. That's the most stubborn and wilful kind of dragon there is."

"Holy mother of marmalade! Dragons are real?"

"Yes Xander, dragons are real."

"Can you show us a spell?" Willow asked excitedly.

"Uh, no." Willow's face fell so Buffy explained further."Underage witches and wizards aren't allowed to use magic outside of school. I won't be of age until January when I'll be seventeen."

"Is that another law?" Xander asked curiously.

"It's the Restriction of Underage Sorcery," Joych said, surprising everyone. "The teacher that introduced us to the wizarding world told us about it," she explained.

"They can also track people to enforce it, it's why I never used magic on patrols, not that it would be of great help against most of the things I- _we_ fight."

"Patrols? What are you talking about?" Joyce asked.

"Oh God! Five minutes," Buffy gasped looking at the clock. Her heart was beating furiously, she had more adrenaline pumping through her system than if she'd just taken on a gang of vampires.

There was a knock on the door. Joyce answered it and let Angel in.

"I know what you said last night, but I couldn't let you leave without saying goodbye," he said quietly.

Buffy went to him and he put his arms around her. Their lips met softly. Buffy was very aware of her mother standing just behind Angel, so kept it brief.

"I'm glad you came."

With only two minutes to spare Buffy pulled her trunk from the wall.

"You managed to get everything you need in there?" Willow asked doubtfully.

"Uh huh. I'd show you, but there's no time. The first thing I did when I learnt enlarging charms was to enlarge the inside. It's like the TARDIS. And feather light charms make it really easy to carry. It's great for carrying a lot of books."

"Ooh! I wanna learn magic," Willow pouted.

Buffy hugged everyone one last time. "You have no idea how much I'm gonna miss all of you. You're my family and I love you," she told them. She kissed her mother on the cheek. Both of them were crying.

"I don't want you to go," Joyce held her fiercely.

"I know, but I have to. I love you mom."

There were only seconds left so Buffy sat on her trunk with the portkey in one hand. She knew from experience that portkeys threw the user around a bit and although her Slayer abilities might give her the ability to stay upright she hadn't tested that and had no desire to fall flat on her face in front of a room full of people.

The portkey activated. Buffy felt the queasy magic feeling of being yanked around.

"Good morning Miss Granger," Professor Dumbledore said happily. "I'm glad to see you arrived safely. He waved his wand in her direction and suddely the itchy feeling she'd had since the night before was gone. The locator spell had been removed.

"Morning? Oh right. I forgot about the time difference," she said a little shakily. "It must be about 6am right? I'm probably gonna get the jetlag from Hell, or from the Hellmouth."

Dumbledore huckled. "Quite."

Buffy took the opportunity to look around. She'd never been in Dumbledore's office before. It was really a beautiful room. One wall was mostly windows and Dumbledore sat in front of it, facing her behind his desk. The other walls were predominantly filled with portraits, she recognised some of them from 'Hogwarts: A History' as old headmasters and headmistresses. Spindly tables dotted the room, each with whirring silver objects on them. She noticed that one or two looked as though they had been repaired recently- without magic. Bookshelves and cabinets were crammed into every available space each overflowing as far as she could see.

"You're quite the pack rat ain'tcha?"

Dumbledore merely looked at her over his half moon glasses, his fingers steepled in front of him.

"So are you gonna start asking me questions or am I just jumping into story mode here?"

"I have heard your tale from both Harry and Ron, but I would like to hear the full story from you. Perhaps you would like to start from the beginning. Why did you leave?"

So Buffy told Dumbledore the exact same story she had told Harry and Ron. Dumbledore was a good listener. He remained silent and simply allowed her to talk herself out, often smiling encouragingly, but otherwise he just allowed her to continue.

"Very well," he said finally. "It seems you have a choice to make Miss Granger, or is it Miss Summers?"

"Legally it's Summers now. What's the choice?"

"That was it."

"Huh?" She thought back over what he had said. "Oh you mean what name do I want to use? It'll be Hermione while I'm here."

"You've already thought about this I see."

"Yeah. I figure no one in Sunnydale can be connected to Hermione Granger, but if I go by Buffy Summeres it'll be childs play for Death Eaters to find my mother and from there they can find my friends. It's better this way."

"Quite sensible. So you'll wish to change your accent back."

"Lucius Malfoy already heard me talking like this. If I change it back he might think I'm trying to hide something. And I kinda like it."

Dumbledore twinkled at her. "It does make you unique."

"Back in Sunnydale it made me blend in. It might be nice to be special for once."

"If that is what you wish." He looked to the door and a second later someone knocked. "Come in Minerva."

The door opened and Professor McGonagall entered. She looked much the same as ever, her hair pulled into a severe bun and her robes were neat.

"Albus, you asked me to come up and speak to Miss Granger."

Dumbledore indicated Buffy and she raised a hand in greeting. "Hi Professor."

McGonagall's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my. Miss Granger is that really you? You look so different."

"It's me Professor," Buffy smiled. "Glad to have me back?"

"Oh, of course." McGonagall gazed at her for a moment then shook her head. "I need to speak to you about classes Miss Granger."

"Ok. Actually I was curious about that. I didn't take my OWLs. So what'll happen? Will I have to go back a year?"

"You were always an outstanding student," McGonagall told her sternly, "so I have no reason to believe you can't catch up with the sixth years. You may take your OWLs in May with the current fifth years if that is what you wish, or if you feel ready you can take them straight away."

"No thank you. I'll wait. The more prep time the better."

"Most sensible. You will need to decide which classes you will take. I believe we can make an exception and allow you to choose any you like. Normally it would be dependant on OWL grades. Studies for any OWL subject you are not taking at NEWT level will need to be done on your own time. You may ask teachers or other students to tutor you if you wish and they agree."

"Well I definitely want to take Transfiguration," Buffy mused all the while thinking,'I am such a teacher's pet.' "Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Potions. I'm not sure about any others though."

McGonagall picked up a quill and wrote that down. "I would recommend only one more subject," she said frowning. "You will have enough to do as it is."

"Can I think about it and tell you tonight?"

"That is acceptable Miss Granger. I can give you your timetable then."

"When do I start classes?"

"I suggest you take today to adjust," Dumbledore said cheerfully, "and start tomorrow. As of yet no one except Mr Potter and Mr Weasley are aware of your presence. I will announce it to the school at dinner. Perhaps it would be best for you to keep a low profile until then so as to make as large an impact as possible on your fellow students." He caught McGonagall's stern look. "I meant of course, to allow you some quiet time as you will most likely be swarmed with questions once your return is well known." He looked at McGonagall again, then whispered to Buffy. "Can I count on you to play along?"

Buffy snickered softly. "Sounds like fun. I'm in. I'll make sure I'm all rested up for then."

Dumbledore smiled at her happily. "Professor McGonagall will escort you to your dormitory. The other students will still be sleeping. Once they are in class you shouldn't be disturbed. The house elves will take your belongings."

Taking that as a dismissal Buffy nodded and headed for the door.

"Miss Granger." Buffy looked back to the old man sitting behind the desk. "It's good to have you home."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It felt odd to be walking Hogwarts' halls again. Strangely comfortable. Every corridor held a memory of happy times and friendship. Youthful adventures and innocent laughter.

"Wait. This isn't the way to Gryffindor tower. Or have things changed that much since I was here?" Buffy asked.

"We're going to the Hospital Wing first, Miss Granger."

"Why?"

"I'm told you were injured in your encouter with a vampire. Professor Dumbledore asked me to get you looked over by Madame Pomfrey."

"It's really nothing. I'm fine. It was a scratch. Nothing to worry about."

"Madame Pomfrey will be the judge of that."

By now they were right outside the door. Buffy looked pleadingly at her Professor. "I_ hate_ hospitals."

McGonagall just looked at her pointedly.

"Ok, ok. I'm going." Dejectedly, Buffy walked into the dreaded domain of the school nurse.

"There you are. Sit on the bed," Madame Pomferey ordered.

Buffy nervously did as she was told. "There really is nothing wrong with me. Professor Dumbledore's just overreacting. My little scratch was all taken care of."

"Nonsense. You can't have received sufficient treatment from a muggle hospital. Now, left hand and right arm I believe." Pomfrey took her left hand and examined it. "No bruising." She waved her wand over Buffy's fist. "Hmm. Roll up your right sleeve please." Another wand wave and "hmm."

"What is it? What hmm?"

"Your hand is fine. I can see evidence of cracked knucles, but they're all healed now. There's a scratch on your arm, but it must be almost a week old. There. It's healed, you may go." Pomfrey went back to her office, muttering about headmasters trying to tell her her job and wasting her time.

"Now what?" Buffy was counting her lucky stars that Pomfrey was choosing to blame Dumbledore for non existent injuries instead of wondering if she'd somehow managed to heal them overnight.

"Now I will take you to your dormitory. The other students won't be up yet. Go straight to bed and with any luck you won't be disturbed until dinner."

"Sounds like a plan."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: So there you go. Chapter 8. Hope you all liked it.More of a transition chapter than anything.

I know that in 'What's My Line, Pt 2' Giles didn't know about Kendra, but it really bugs me that he didn't. Surely Watchers talk to each other sometimes. Mr Zabuto could have called Travers and said, "hey Kendra's been Called." Then Travers would have thought, 'but Buffy's still alive. Why didn't old Rupert tell me she was dead?' Then he would've called Giles and everyone would have known what happened. Just my opinion.

What other class do you think Buffy should take? It won't be important, but I couldn't decide.

**Allen Pitt **You know I'd completely forgotten about Ethan. I'll have to bring him in somehow. I've made a decision about Spike. I think it works and it made me laugh when I thought of it.

**Godessa39** Wish I could've seen that happy dance. Dumbledore isn't going to be evil and manipulative. He just thinks he knows best is all.

**Skoellya **Actually I love Dumbledore. I think he's gotten a little too used to people not arguing with him though. He expected _Hermione_ to agree with him. He's not really prepared for _Buffy_ though. First Harry yells at him and know he's got her to deal with. He's going to have to get used to not being in charge of everyone's lives. Buffy will have to give him a stern talking to at some point. The Buffy/Hermione thing has been hard. I'm thinking of her as a bookworm with an attitude problem and it seems to work. And I think you're right about Angel.

**Nikki** Buffy revealed herself as Hermione because she knew she might be recognised anyway and didn't want to reveal her new identity. Just because Malfoy was the one speaking doesn't mean another Death Eater who _would_ recognise her wasn't watching the whole thing. She didn't know the vamp was with them until he revealed himself so didn't think the Slayer would be necessary. Either that or sometimes she just doesn't think before she speaks. Take your pick.

**BlueDove** I'm glad you enjoyed it, it was hard to write. Cordelia was only in that scene because then she'll say something and lighten the mood.

Thanks to everyone else aswell, especially to the ones who offered their opinions on Angel. I think I'll be going with Slytherin.

Dozy.

P.S. Make me smile; leave a review.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Buffy had slept for a couple of hours, but excitement kept her from staying in bed long. Thankfully Slayers didn't need a lot of sleep. The whole time she was lying there in bed all she could think about was that now she was back in Hogwarts she could use her magic again. Her fingers, now attuned to holing a stake, ached to pick up her wand once more, so eventually she got up and dressed. Her robes were too small so she put on a skirt and tank top and a pair of knee high boots, Professor Dumbledore did want her to make an entrance this evening after all. She picked up her wand from her bedside table and a stake from her trunk. The stake she hid in a boot just in case and then she was ready.

"_Wingardium Leviosa._" Best to start simple and work her way up. She could feel the familiar power of the spell and a little extra. 'Oops. Overpowered it slightly.' The book she'd levitated hit the ceiling, hard. She'd found when she became the Slayer that her magic had matured early, become a little more powerful. Nowhere near as powerful as Dumbledore or even Harry, but it made her well above average. She'd gotten used to holding back so as not to alert others to the change, but she'd forgotten just now. Good thing she was practising before classes or something bad could have happened, like sending someone flying across the room. Most people's power grew with them and felt natural to them. They unconsciously controlled the power levels of a spell, but because Buffy's magic was supernaturally increased when she had already become accustomed to her power levels she had to make a conscious effort to keep control. She was going to have even more trouble hiding the fact that spells didn't effect her the same as everyone else.

_That _discovery had been another disaster. They'd been in Charms, practising a cleaning spell when Lavender Brown, who hadn't been listening to the instructions, had said the incantation completely wrong and the room had been filled with gas. When it had cleared everyone had been turned a rather pretty shade of blue. That is everyone but her. Professor Flitwick had congratulated her for putting up a shield charm so quickly and awarded points for her fast thinking. Although Buffy had enjoyed the Smurf jokes aimed at her classmates by other muggle born students she had known from that moment on that she needed to be careful.

It wasn't that she was immune or anything. Far from it. Minor spells usually had no effect, or did something entirely different, like the time Parvati Patil had tried to charm her hair straight before the Yule Ball and instead it had all ended up sticking in the air. It had been a miracle that she had managed to get it sorted before the ball started. Magic was just unpredictable when used on her. She and Merrick had tried out some spells in training and discovered that middle level spells, like stunners sometimes worked first time, but on other occasions would just make her tired, or she could be hit multiple times with no effect. High level spells always seemed to work on her properly. They had tried the Imperius curse and had found that although it still worked she had quickly learned to throw it off. Obviously they had never tried the other two, but they had assumed they worked a normal.

Buffy had taken to pairing with Neville in class. No one was really surprised if one of his spells were weak, came out wrong or just didn't work at all. It was cruel, she knew, but her only other choice was telling everyone she was some kind of freak and that really wasn't an option.

Time passed quickly as she blissfully went through spells she had mastered in her first four years and attempted some fifth year spells for the first time. She even used some of the sixth year spells out of a book to lock her trunk, using as much power as possible. Sometimes her room mates were just a little too happy to share her things and with the weapons hidden in her trunk that couldn't be allowed.

When dinner time arrived Buffy headed down to the Great Hall. She couldn't believe how nervous and excited she was as she walked the familiar corridors.

She peeked through the entryway. When she had managed to tear her eyes away from the enchanted ceiling- 'looks like snow,'- she realised that the Great Hall was half empty. 'A little early, but I'm not gonna hang about here until everyone's ready. I'm hungry.' The house elves had brought her a snack at lunchtime, but that was hours ago. 'Here I go.'

The instant she was over the threshold all eyes were on her. It wasn't a completely new scenario, she'd gotten used to being stared at. Here at Hogwarts it was usually only when she was with Harry after something big had happened, but after she'd been expelled from Hemery she'd had to go to the Guidance Counsellor. Everyone had been looking at her and whispering about the freak that burned down the gym.

She took a seat at the Gryffindor table, her Slayer hearing picking up a lot of the whispers.

"Who is she?"

"Why is she sitting at our table? Is she new?"

"Does Hogwarts accept transfer students?"

Buffy pulled a plate towards her and filled it with food. Suddenly she didn't feel so hungry though.

"Hello there."

Buffy looked up into the grinning face of Seamus Finnegan. "Hey."

"I'm Seamus."

"Hello Seamus," Buffy smiled in greeting.

"So who are you? Everyone's talking about you," Seamus said eagerly. Subtlety had never been his strong point.

"I noticed." Buffy had promised Dumbledore she would play along. If she told Seamus who she was the whole school would probably know in seconds.

"Hi." Harry dropped into the chair on her right even as Dumbledore entered the Hall. Ron sat on her left.

"You three know each other?" Seamus asked, confused.

"Oh look!" Buffy said quickly. "Professor Dumbledore looks like he's going to make a speech."

A hush fell over the students as they all looked at the Headmaster expectantly. It was rare for him to make a speech in the middle of the school year. He smiled at them benignly. "As you may, or may not, have noticed we have a new student in our midst," several people looked from him, to Buffy and then back to Dumbledore. "Or should I say a returning student? I'm sure most of you remember the events of last November when Miss Hermione Granger disappeared from our midst. I am happy to inform you…" The rest of what Dumbledore was trying to say was drowned out by the sudden cacophony of sound as everyone began to talk at once.

"Hermione?" Ginny Weasley, a few seats down waved at her and smiled. Across the table Seamus' mouth was opening and closing, making him look a bit like a fish. At the Slytherin table a blonde boy, otherwise known as Draco Malfoy, was glaring at her as though her presence was a personal insult. All up and down the Gryffindor table people started clapping and it was soon taken up at the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables although the Hufflepuffs were far more enthusiastic. Of course, nearly all the Slytherins were refusing to join in. Buffy just blushed shyly.

"Looking good Hermione," Dean Thomas yelled over the noise and received a slap on his arm from Ginny.

Harry reached over and squeezed her hand. "It'll die down," he whispered knowingly, understanding her discomfort.

Ron just grinned at her encouragingly, except for when he turned to glare at a seventh year who wolf whistled at her.

"Yes, yes," Dumbledore called over the din. "We are all glad to see Miss Granger has returned safe and sound." The noise was slowly fading. "She has been missing from these walls for over a year now, spending her time in the United States as some of you may have guessed from her new accent. I beg you all not to question her about her time away as it is her decision to tell you or not. Please make her feel welcome as she readjusts to life amongst us." Dumbledore smiled again and sat.

As the Hall returned to normal Buffy said, "Wow. Such a big fuss for little old me."

Seamus grinned at her. "You do sound American," he said conversationally.

Buffy tried to relax through the rest of the meal, but found it difficult with so many people coming over to speak to her. Parvati Patil and Lavener Brown spent five minutes chatting about her hair and complimenting her outfit before they told her that they had suspected something was going on the day before when her bed had reappeared back in the dormitory, but hadn't realised it would be her. Ginny came to tell her about how she was now Chaser on the Quidditch team although she hadn't been made prefect, which made Buffy wonder who the female prefect for the Gryffindor sixth years was now. Buffy had always been very close to Ginny from all the time they'd spent sharing a room at the Burrow, the only two girls surrounded by the Weasley men. A lot of other people came just to welcome her back and say hi.

Slowly the Hall got quieter as students began to file out and finally Buffy could eat. Harry and Ron stayed silent throughout the meal. Every so often Ron would touch her elbow or she would catch Harry glancing at her as though they were reassuring themselves that she was really there.

Towards the end of the meal Buffy went to McGonagall and told her the final choice for her class list and McGonagall handed her a timetable. Buffy was actually looking forward to lessons for the first time in over a year.

"Come on," Harry said to her. "Let's go somewhere and talk."

Harry led them to the seventh floor and stopped facing a blank stretch of wall. Behind them was a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy attempting to teach trolls ballet. To Buffy's confusion Harry and Ron proceeded to walk up and down three times. On the third pass a door appeared on the wall. Harry opened it and stepped in. It was impressive, but Buffy figured that she'd seen a lot of strange things since the age of eleven and this really did rank pretty low. She walked in after the boys.

She looked around in amazement. The room they had entered was fairly large and filled with defence paraphernalia and books. Cushions littered the floor. "We made it the DA room," Ron said as they sat down.

"The what room?" Buffy asked wonderingly. "What is this place?"

"The Room of Requirement," Harry told her. "It becomes whatever you want it to be. You walk past the entrance three times thinking of what you require and the room provides it. This is where we held the DA."

"What was the DA?" Buffy asked, realising how much she had missed out on while she was away.

"Remember that idea you had to have a defence study group? Well we carried on with it. It was one of the best things about last year. It was called Dumbledore's Army. The DA for short."

"It was Ginny's idea," Ron said proudly.

Buffy smiled at them. "I'm glad you didn't give it up. Defence is important and Umbridge wasn't much good at teaching it, the hag. By the way, who's teaching it now?"

"Snape," Harry said distastefully.

"SNAPE? My _God_ what was Dumbledore thinking?"

The boys looked at her, surprised by her outburst. "Are you _sure_ she's Hermione?" Ron asked. "Hermione _never_ criticised teachers."

"Well Hermione went away and developed an attitude," Buffy said wryly. "About time too 'cos she always just so mild and did as she was told. It was annoying. Now I'm sure this isn't what you wanted to talk about."

Both boys were still staring. "We thought you should be told some of what happened last year," Harry said quietly. "Before you hear some garbled version of it from someone else."

"Like…"

"The DA, Umbridge, how Dumbledore ended up on the run from the Aurors that sort of thing."

"Oh and you have to tell me about that fight you were taunting Malfoy about."

"Yeah," Harry said somewhat dejectedly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Buffy's head was spinning. She'd never imagined how much her Hogwarts friends had gone through in her absence. Now she thought about it though she should have known. What year didn't Harry get into a load of trouble and almost die?

The DA had been a huge success until one of Umbridge's spies had caught Justin Finch Fletchley telling Zacharias Smith about the next meeting shortly after Christmas. They'd had no more secure way of passing the information on so it had been by word of mouth. Umbridge had followed Zacharias to the meeting and then taken the whole group to Dumbledore to have them all expelled. Most of the members had adamantly refused to talk, but Marietta Edgecombe had been so scared she'd almost told everything. Fortunately Buffy had left a jinx on the parchment they'd signed at the first meeting that caused the word sneak to appear in spots on her face. She hadn't been keen to talk after that. Buffy had been proud to hear that Umbridge was completely baffled by the jinx and hadn't been able to reverse it although Umbridge's incompetence lessened that victory a bit. Dumbledore had eventually claimed responsibility for the DA and had been forced to flee the school. The DA had gone unpunished.

Umbridge had become Headmistress after that, but most of the school had revolted. McGonagall had been cursed and Hagrid and Trelawney sacked. Buffy couldn't feel too sorry for Trelawney, but Hagrid had been forced to leave his own home and go into hiding. Eventually Umbridge had been unable to take any more and had had a mental breakdown though she still clung to her position. The Weasley twins had created a huge swamp and had performed several other creative pranks that Buffy knew she wouldn't have appreciated half as much when she was still Hermione. When the twins had left school early, almost every aspiring prankster came out of the woodwork to show Umbridge that she would never beat them down. The damage she had done was virtually all repaired by now, but it was appalling that she had managed to do so much harm.

And then there was the Department of Mysteries fiasco. Harry had had a vision of Sirius being tortured in one of his exams. He had immediately decided to go to the rescue. Buffy couldn't blame him, she knew she would have done exactly the same thing. Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw fourth year at the time, Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley had come across Harry telling Ron about his vision and had volunteered to help. Luna had suggested they fly by thestrals, which Buffy herself had been able to see since her calling in fourth year, despite not having seen anyone actually die at that point. Merrick had said it was because the Slayer is so attuned with death. They'd convinced Dobby the house elf to provide them with some raw meat and lured the thestrals out into the open.

Once at the ministry the five had blundered their way to the Hall of Prophecy and the very idea of that made her queasy. She wondered if there were any Slayer prophecies down there or a record of the one Merrick had told her about. While there, they had been attacked by a dozen Death Eaters who seemed to want a particular prophecy about Harry and Voldemort. The kids discovered that Sirius had never been there in the first place and tried to escape with the prophecy. The fight that had then occurred had gone badly until the Order had shown up, it seemed Dobby had felt bad and had gone to Dumbledore at Headquarters and told him what was going on. The Death Eaters had been captured, but Sirius was killed. Harry had been possessed by Voldemort and the prophecy was smashed. The only good thing to come out of the whole debacle was that the Ministry was finally forced to admit that Voldemort was back. Harry was now considered a hero again. Dumbledore had been reinstated as Headmaster and had insisted that Umbridge be removed.

Harry of course was devastated by Sirius' death and had blamed himself for not checking to see of he was really missing first. Ron had told her that Kreacher was in place had that happened and was prepared to lead Harry to believe that Sirius was gone so Harry really couldn't have known, but Buffy knew from experience that guilt over a loved ones passing was irrational. The loss of the prophecy irked her too. Now it was gone and no one knew what it said. She could hazard a few guesses based on how these things normally went, hopefully it wouldn't be like the one connecting her and the Master. She _really _hated prophecies. Poor Harry must be tearing himself apart worrying over what it said.

Buffy was alone in the Room of Requirement now. Ron and Harry had a weeks worth of detention with Filch for their little disappearing act. It had to have been Dumbledore who gave them that punishment. It was far too lenient for McGonagall or Snape.

Thinking of Snape brought Buffy's thoughts back to another thing Harry had suffered last year. Occlumency lessons. While she agreed that shielding ones mind would be a useful skill to have, especially for Harry who was having Voldy-visions, she didn't like the sound of the lessons themselves. She particularly hadn't liked the sound of legilimency, which sounded too close to mind reading for her comfort. Harry had told her that both Snape and Dumbledore were experts. Was that why Dumbledore had been so keen to let her talk that morning? She was suddenly glad that she had kept the story as close to the truth as possible, hopefully Dumbledore would only be able to sense that she was leaving things out and not what those things were. The thought made Buffy really want to pummel something.

With a sudden inspiration, Buffy leapt up and left the room. How did Harry do it? She walked past the entrance three times thinking of what she wanted then opened the door again. 'Excellent. At least I can keep up with my training while I'm here. And I can work out the anxiety that conversation left me with.' The room was now filled with exercise equipment, a punching bag, balance beam, weights, weapons, everything she could possibly need for training. 'Time to get to work.'

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

An hour or so later Buffy was walking to the library. It had been one of her favourite places in Hogwarts and she was eager to visit it once more, even if she didn't have any homework to do yet. She entered quietly and went to a table, wondering what she could look up. 'Ooh, I know.'

She'd been curious about something since the night before when she'd been talking to Angel. She knew the approximate time period she was looking for and she had a name to work with. The information should be here somewhere.

It took some time, but eventually Buffy found what she was looking for. She found herself gazing at an old copy of the Daily Prophet on the obituaries page. Buffy stared at the page for a full minute before she started laughing. This was just too good.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Sunnydale._

"My Mater wishes for you to know that an alliance with him would be very worth your while," the black robed man said fearfully. "He will make sure you always have enough to eat, as much blood as you desire." He whimpered pitifully. "Please don't kill me."

The blond vampire grinned sadistically. "And in return for this plentiful blood I've got to do what? Kill some people? Stir up some chaos? That's not so bad. I like to do those things, but call him Master? Now don't get me wrong. I'm sure he's a lovely bloke, but I don't call anyone Master. Especially not some human." Spike pulled the man to him roughly, fangs bared and the Death Eater cowered in his grip. "Oh, get over it you ninny. It only hurts for a second."

"M-my M-m-master isn't really h-human. N-not anymore."

"Well that makes all the difference," Spike said letting him fall roughly to the ground and morphing back to human. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Gaining confidence the Death Eater stood and brushed off his robes. "You'll never have to work for your blood again."

"Ah! But you see, that's the fun part. The hunt, the kill," Spike licked his lips hungrily, eyeing the man. "I don't think your Master is offering me that, at least, not long term."

"The Master will…"

"The Maste will what? Does he know what happened to the last fiend that called himself the Master? Now _that_ guy was scary. Six hundred year old vampire, bit disfigured, but all the more terrifying for it and he was still bleedin' scary when he'd ben trapped underground for nearly a hundred years. Then some little blonde bint comes out of nowhere and kills him as if he were nothing. If I were you I'd warn _The Master_ to watch out for blondie and stop bothering _me._ Trust me, that little girl is far scarier than he could ever be."

"The Master will have her killed for you. And you…"

"_I_ will kill the Slayer myself," Spike said angrily. "I'm looking forward to it. No upstart little Dark Lord will take that from me. Now if that's all, I have people to kill."

"I'll, I'll just be going then," the Death Eater backed away.

"No, I don't think so." Spike grabbed the man and dragged him to a dark corner. "Here Dru, have something to eat." He shoved the man into the shadows and a few seconds later heard sucking noises.

"Mmmmm." Drusilla hummed to herself, stepping from the shadows. "Wizards taste like stars. So much energy."

Spike caressed her face gently. "If it's wizards you want, my love, then it's wizards you shall have."

"Perhaps you should let one of the little birdies fly home, Spike," she crooned. "Then the red-eyed man might send us more than one at a time."

"Perhaps, but he asks too much in return. This way we get a wizard every week or so, at least until he gives up on us."

"My Spike, my naughty boy. The secret will soon come out." Drusilla giggled madly. "Will you play the riddle game?"

"Did you have a vision, pet?" Spike asked her, concerned. "Tell me all about it."

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A/N: I love Spike and Drusilla. You'll all be glad to know that my laptop is back and working fine, so I won't have to wait until it's convenient for my brother to let me use his PC. This chapter was really difficult because I had to try and work out what would have been the same with or without Hermione and what would be different because she's not there, like the DA not having the Galleons to pass on meeting times and Harry not using the fire in Umbridge's office to contact Sirius. Next chapter is far more fun. Bit of Snape, bit of Draco etc.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed.

**Allen Pitt** All very good coments. The thestral bit I added just for you, but I don't think I'll do anything else with it. Don't forget that Buffy has been studying magical theory in secret ever since she left, she may have had to hide it, but part of her is still Hermione. She's not as far behind as you might think, only in practical work and as she doesn't need much sleep she'll be able to spend time studying while everyone else is in bed.

**JessAngelus** and **Angeluslover3 **Don't worry. Angel will reappear in a couple of chapters.

**Goddessa39** Spike's part in this story will become clear soon. Must say I really love that character. Nice suggestions about Ethan.

**Toniboo** She's going to be with Angel, at least for now. I can't really see the Buffy/Ron thing I gotta say, but he will definitely have some feelings for her. I see it as more of the relationship she has with Xander in season one and two. He has a crush on her, but she's not interested in anything more than friendship.

**lotusblossom** No your review wasn't too long. I'm glad you're a bit clearer on the Buffy timeline, it's set after 'The Dark Age' and before 'What's My Line.' Lots of very good points and suggestions. Don't worry about the Scoobs. They will be around, but not a huge factor. I think some people can ruin great stories by trying to have too many characters in it all having to have some significant part of the story and the main plot gets lost somewhere around the middle. Obviously Buffy will be in it, Angel and now Spike. Others will appear, but most won't be important.

**Tanydwr** Yep, huge amounts of plans. Took me about a week for the prep, before I even started writing. Hopefully you can tell.

Please make me very happy by leaving a review.

Dozy.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10.

Things had calmed down somewhat by breakfast the next morning. Students were no longer desperate to speak to Buffy, instead they were content to merely sit and stare at her. She guessed there was already a lot of gossip spreading about where she'd been for the last year. There was nothing like the Hogwarts rumour mill.

"So far you've joined a touring circus, been a movie star and had some politician's love child," Ginny sat next to her heavily. "Those are the best ones so far. I'll let you know what else I hear."

"Actually I went to a muggle school in California," Buffy told her.

"Really? Muggle school? What's that like?"

"Y'know. Same as here, only less magic more math."

While the girls talked the owls swooped in to deliver the morning post. Ginny was very curious about what Buffy had been up to and Buffy was eager to hear more about the past year at Hogwarts.

"I Can't believe Michael ran off with Cho Chang! Last I saw she was all hot for Harry. And now you're with Dean? I bet Ron's taking that well." Buffy had really missed the long hours she and Ginny would sit and talk about boys. Before Willow, Ginny had been the only girl she had ever been close to.

"Hey Hermione." It was Parvati. "You made the _Daily Prophet_!" The Indian girl threw her copy of the paper to Buffy, who caught it deftly. She and Ginny immediately began poring over it and eventually found the article Parvati ad mentioned.

'**Chosen One's Girlfriend Returns.'**

_Last night Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was plunged into chaos when Hermione Granger returned after a year away. Hermione, 16, was once the girlfriend of Harry Potter, our saviour, the Chosen One and defeater of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. She disappeared on November 1st 1996, leaving Harry completely desolate and depressed…_

"What is this?" Buffy exclaimed. "I never dated Harry! Why do they always think that? Is it so impossible for a girl's best friend to be a guy? And what's this 'Chosen One' stuff?"

"They've been calling Harry that since the Department of Mysteries, because of the prophecy that was lost," Ginny replied. "What does the rest say?"

"It just goes on about how I broke Harry's heart and how I've probably only come here to get back with him. Lots of speculation, very little fact. Your typical _Daily Prophet_ article." Buffy threw the paper down in disgust. "It also suggests that I shouldn't be allowed anywhere near Harry in case I try to hurt him again. How ridiculous can you get? It doesn't say who wrote it, how did they find this out so fast?"

"You should have seen the ones they printed just after you left."

The girls looked up to see Harry and Ron standing there.

"They kept going on about how horribly Harry must have been treating you for you to leave school over him. Or that you'd discovered the truth that Harry was delusional and a liar and couldn't take it. Of course, they all love him again now so it must've been all your fault that you two 'broke up.'" Ron said, piling food on his plate.

"You're so evil, breaking Harry's heart like that," Ginny giggled.

"Sorry Harry," Buffy grinned.

"It's ok," Harry told her. "I got over you."

The four of them laughed and Buffy was glad that no one was taking it seriously.

"Dean's here. I'm going to go eat with him," Ginny departed happily.

"So they're calling you the 'Chosen One' now?" Buffy could certainly relate to that. She'd been 'Chosen' for almost two years now.

"They're just guessing what the prophecy said," Harry said, a little self-consciously. "No one knows for certain."

Buffy wasn't sure why, but she felt that Harry wasn't telling her something and Ron's ears were looking a little red, so he must be in on it too. She'd always been able to tell when one of her boys was lying. She was curious, but knew she had no right to push. She was keeping a pretty huge secret herself.

"So it's Transfiguration first, right? Buffy asked instead. "I'm keen to get back into the swing, y'know? Classes, homework."

"Knitting elf hats?" Ron teased.

"She's our Hermione alright," Harry said, joining in. "She can never wait for the learning to begin."

"Hey!" Buffy threw a piece of bacon at him. "Quidditch obsessed loonies," she muttered, just loud enough so they could hear.

The original 'Golden Trio,' finally reunited, spent the rest of breakfast chatting good-naturedly. When it was time for class they stood up and walked down the table. Heads turned as they passed.

"Excellent! Get rid of the uniforms!" someone called out.

"Er, Hermione," Harry said cautiously. "Are you going to change before class?"

Buffy looked down at her outfit. She was wearing black jeans and a baby pink jumper, both of which were a little snug. "What's wrong with what I have on?"

"Nothing," Ron said grinning at her as Michael Corner came over to them.

"Hermione, can I walk with you? I wanted to ask you something."

Ron glared. "Clear off Corner."

Michael didn't leave so Buffy said, "thank you Michael, but I'm walking with these two."

"Oh. Alright then." Michael seemed a little disappointed. "I'll see you later then."

"Ok. See ya." The minute he was out of earshot Buffy turned on Ron. "Could you be a little more polite?"

Ron was still glaring after Michael menacingly. "Maybe you should go and put some robes on."

"I don't have any that fit. Turns out I grew an inch or two," Buffy told him.

"You grew? Really? You still look tiny to me," Harry said affectionately.

"That's 'cos you two have shot up. You're both so tall now. I feel like a midget," Buffy complained.

"You _are_ a midget," Ron laughed. "Come on. If we're late McGonagall will skin us alive."

Transfiguration didn't go too badly. Buffy was glad she'd kept up with her reading while in Sunnydale or she would have been completely lost at sea. She knew that with a little hard work she could soon be up to speed, barring demon attacks and apocalypses.

After class McGonagall asked her to stay behind. "I was very impressed to see that you haven't forgotten much Miss Granger." Buffy smiled hesitantly at that, not sure why she'd been kept back for this. "But not with your wardrobe."

"Oh." Well that made more sense. "I'm sorry Professor. My robes were too small and I haven't had a chance to go shopping yet. Lavender and Parvati offered to let me borrow some of theirs, but Lavender is too tall, I was tripping over the hem and Parvati is so skinny I couldn't get in hers."

"I see," McGonagall's lips pressed together firmly. "I don't like to do this, but your clothing seems to be distracting the male members of the class, so on Saturday you may go into Hogsmeade to purchase new robes. I will ask Professor Hagrid to accompany you. Bear in mind that this is not a general opportunity to shop, you will buy school robes and anything else that you desperately need between now and Christmas, but that is all."

"Really? That's great," Buffy was excited at the prospect. The last time she'd been in the village she'd been more concerned with secret meetings and Watchers who wouldn't mind their own business. "I'll make a list tonight. Thank you Professor."

A few minutes later Buffy was standing outside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. With a deep breath she knocked, then entered.

"I'm sorry I'm late Professor, but..."

"Miss Granger, you are five minutes late and out of uniform," Snape snapped. "Twenty points for your flagrant disrespect of the rules."

"But, Professor McGonagall wanted to-"

"Silence," Snape snarled. "Sit down and be quiet."

Buffy sighed. Snape was so evil. Like Spike evil, but without the being actually scary part. She sat in the empty seat next to Neville Longbottom, who gave her a sympathetic smile. Buffy was trying to figure out exactly when she'd stopped being scared of Snape. Compared to Lothos or the Master he really was just a big blowhard.

"Now, Miss Granger, would you like to tell us what the subject of today's lesson will be?" Snape asked contemptuously.

Buffy gaped at him. "How am I supposed to know?"

"You are in this class are you not? Therefore you should be prepared."

"That is so not fair! I've been away," Buffy said disbelievingly.

"Miss Granger, you will not speak back to me. A further ten points for your insolence."

"You call that insolence?" Buffy asked angrily. "That wasn't insolence, it was me pointing out that you were being biased and unfair. There's a difference."

Snape seemed shocked that she really had spoken back to him. Buffy was willing to bet it was the first time ever. "Detention," he hissed at last.

"Fine," Buffy said, rolling her eyes.

Snape continued to glare at her, but now addressed the entire class. "Now Miss Granger has finished making a spectacle of herself we will continue. Turn to page 385 in your textbooks."

Buffy was silently fuming, not at Snape as much as at herself for losing her temper so quickly. She knew what he was like, why did she have to let herself get wound up like that? As she berated herself she realised that Snape had still not turned away and was keeping eye contact with her. She remembered Harry telling her about Legilimency the night before. Was Snape trying to use it on her? Buffy immediately resolved to look it up in the library when she had a chance. And Occlumency too. She couldn't take the risk of her secret getting out that way.

Aware of the dangerous turn her thoughts had taken, while still maintaining eye contact, Buffy looked away. Snape would probably interpret it as a sign of weakness, but she didn't care.

Her eyes locked with Neville's. He looked completely gob-smacked. Actually pretty much everyone did. 'Great. Now everyone's gonna wonder what's up with me.'

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey Granger. I heard you told Snape off."

"Shove off Malfoy," Ron snarled.

"Shut it Weasel. I was talking to Granger."

Buffy put a restraining hand on Ron's arm. "While I'm sure you have many oh so witty things to say to me, I find I don't really care. So if you'll get out of my way, I have somewhere to be." She made to move past Malfoy, but he grabbed her arm.

Harry and Ron both drew their wands. "Let her go, Malfoy," Harry said dangerously.

Malfoy stepped behind her so they couldn't hex him without hitting her first. "I heard you were working as a whore in New York. Is that true?" he asked, leering at her.

"Ok. That's enough," Buffy grabbed the arm he was holding her with, spun him around and shoved him face first against the wall. "You're like the comic book villain, who wasn't. You occasionally get the lines right, but really can't pull off the rest of the bad guy persona. It's pathetic. Leave me alone, or I will hurt you."

"I'm so scared," Malfoy said sarcastically, though his voice was a little indistinct as his face was still smushed against the wall. He struggled in her grip. "Crabbe, Goyle, get her off me."

"No need, I think I made my point," Buffy said letting him go suddenly and watching him slide down the wall. "Your cronies can continue their impersonations of inanimate objects. They're really coming on well by the way boys. Now if you're quite done, I need to be elsewhere." With that statement Buffy pasted an innocent smile onto her face and marched past Crabbe and Goyle, who were just now going over to help Malfoy up. Harry and Ron hurried after her.

"Wow Hermione, that was amazing," Ron said ecstatically. "The way he… I thought he was going to wet himself."

"That was different," Harry said thoughtfully. "You never would have done something like that before."

"That's not true," Buffy said defensively. "Do you remember third year? When I slapped him? Don't tell me you've forgotten. It's one of my fondest memories."

"Mine too," Ron said, still grinning.

"It's not the same," Harry said. "You were under stress because of all the schoolwork you were trying to do and everything else that was going on, like Sirius and Buckbeak."

Buffy had known this conversation was coming for a while now. She pulled the two boys into a nearby classroom. "Did you think that I'd come back and nothing would've changed?" she asked gently. "That things would go back to exactly how they were before I left? That's impossible Harry. We've _all_ changed and grown up."

"I _know._ It's not just Malfoy though," Harry said defensively. "What about Snape earlier? You used to respect teachers, even him, and you told him off. He gave _you_ detention for talking back. It's like you're not even Hermione anymore."

"I'm still Hermione, only I'm older and, ok, maybe not wiser, but you've gotta have expected there to be differences. People can change a lot, especially when a so much is going on. A lot of it came from my dad leaving. I used to look up to him so much, then he just disappears. I think I lost my respect for authority figures round about that time. I realised that they don't know everything and when you trust them, that just makes it that much more likely that they'll let you down." She put a hand on his shoulder. "If it helps, you both still mean the world to me. That _hasn't_ changed."

"I like the new Hermione," Ron cut in. "She's great."

"I don't not like the new you," Harry said uncertainly. "I just really wanted my friend back."

"I _am_ back. See, all present and accounted for. It'll take a while for things to settle down, but I promise you I'm here now and that's what's important. Right?"

"Right," Ron agreed.

"Harry?"

"Yeah. That's the main thing," Harry smiled at her hesitantly. "Can you try not to shock me so much with the new Hermione though?"

"Well, it'll be hard, but I think I can swing that."

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"Professor Flitwick?"

"Miss Granger?" the tiny Charms Professor squeaked. "What a pleasure."

"Can I ask you a favour?"

"Of course," Flitwick nodded. "How can I help?"

"When I was in the States I managed to keep up with my theory work, mostly, but I'm way behind on the practical side," Buffy said sheepishly. "I was wondering about tutoring. Could you recommend anyone?"

"My dear girl, I would be delighted to help you out myself," the diminutive Flitwick told her.

"Great. I'm supposed to be taking my OWLs in just over six months and I'm a little worried about how much I missed."

"Of course. How about Friday evenings? We'll see how you're doing and schedule any extra time then."

"Sounds excellent. Thank you Professor," Buffy smiled and made to leave.

"Will you require tutoring in all your subjects, Miss Granger?"

"Actually Charms is one of the worst, probably because so much of it is practical," Buffy said wryly. "I was always best at Transfiguration so I think I'll be ok with that, today's class went well. Most of the other subjects are mostly theoretical, like Runes, Arithmancy and History of Magic. I managed to get hold of most of the Potions ingredients I needed to keep up with that, so that only leaves Herbology, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures."

"What are your plans for those classes?"

"I think I'm gonna ask Neville for help with Herbology and I'm positive Harry can help me with DADA," Buffy mused. "I'm a little hesitant about asking Hagrid to tutor me, but a lot of that class comes from experience with the creature and I don't know another way to get that."

"It sounds like you have really thought this through Miss Granger," Flitwick said encouragingly. "A word of advice. Don't try to take on too much. I would hate to see one of the best students Hogwarts has seen for a long time burnt out from overwork."

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When Buffy finally made it back to the common room that evening, it was nearly empty. Snape had had her scraping the burnt bits from cauldron bottoms. He had just sneered at her and commented on how it would be such a shame if her clothes were ruined, then handed her the scraper and insisted she do the whole job by hand. If it hadn't been for her Slayer strength she would probably still be there, trying to hack away at the more stubborn bits. She was glad Snape had left her to it, if he'd stood over her making remarks she would have probably ended up trying to scrape the sneer from his face.

As she sat by the fire with her books, thinking if she didn't make a start on her homework she never would, Ginny came and sat next to her.

"You're back earlier than the boys," she said grimly. "Filch is probably getting them to clean the toilets or something equally nasty."

"I did not miss the kind of detentions you get here, believe me," Buffy told her. "In my muggle school all they would get you to do is extra work, or lines or something, not cleaning."

"Ron has trouble cleaning his own room," Ginny said with a grin. "Just imagine how horrifying it is for him."

The two girls laughed and Buffy felt some of the tension leave her. "So have the details of my day spread right around the school yet?" she asked.

"You mean Snape? I wish I could have seen it. No one ever talks back to him, he probably didn't know what to do."

"Oh he knew alright. Detention with his greasiness."

"And I also heard that you beat up Malfoy," Ginny said slyly.

"I didn't beat him up. I only pushed him against the wall 'cos he was being a jerk," Buffy said defensively. "I'm surprised he's not running to Daddy over it."

"I think he's too embarrassed," Ginny said happily. "Not to mention, incredibly turned on by it."

"Ew! That is so gross! Take that back."

"What? Some guys think a girl who can push them around is attractive and this is _Malfoy_ after all. He's not exactly the most sane person around."

"Ew!" Buffy exclaimed.

Harry and Ron came through the portrait hole just then, with Neville close behind them.

"How did it go?" Ginny asked. "And why is Neville with you?"

"I've been in the Hospital Wing," Neville replied. "Getting some Pepper Up potion for my cold." Sure enough, Neville did sound very congested.

"This is great," Buffy said suddenly. "Not that Neville has a cold," she added hurriedly at their surprised expressions. "I wanted to ask you if you could tutor me in Herbology, Neville. I know you're top of the class. I'm not taking it at NEWT level, but I still have to take the OWL. And Harry, think you could swing me a little help in DADA?"

"Sure," Harry said at once, but Neville had turned bright red.

"Me? Help you?"

"Yeah, you'd be great at it," Buffy said.

"Go on Neville," Ginny encouraged. "You know more about Herbology than Professor Sprout."

Neville turned even redder, if that was possible. He mumbled something under his breath that sounded like, "Ok," then hurried up the stairs to the boys' dormitories, thoroughly embarrassed.

"Hermione, the whole school is talking about you and Malfoy," Ron told her suspiciously. "Like something happened and now you're in love."

"Ron, you were there, remember?" Buffy pointed out to him. "I pushed him into the wall. It's not my fault if Malfoy is the kind of sicko who likes being beat on."

"He was looking at you all through dinner," Harry said, frowning. "Not in the normal, scowling way either."

Buffy slumped further back into her chair. "I feel dirty."

"It's not just Malfoy," Ginny said quietly. "Most of the boys in school seem to fancy you at the moment. It's because you're such a mystery, what with having been away and there being no explanation for it." She sounded hopeful, probably wanting them to tell her everything, but Buffy didn't feel up to going into it right now.

"Can we do this tomorrow guys? I have loads of homework and make up work to do. I want to at least get this essay for Snape started."

"Ok," Harry agreed. "G'night."

Ginny and Ron said goodnight as well and the three made their way upstairs. Buffy was now completely alone. As she thought back on her first day and all the work she now had to so she was struck with a thought. Whoever had come up with the whole, Slayers not needing much sleep thing was a genius. She would probably be working well into the night for weeks to come.

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A/N: A little bit shorter than I expected, but never mind. Hopefully we'll start getting back into the actual story soon and time will move faster, but I think the integration chapter was important. Buffy needs to get to know everyone again in some ways. Hope you enjoyed it. If you did then please review.

**Allen Pitt **How about both? I really wanted to put the Snape scene in later, but found it worked better here. And as for Draco, he reminds me of a Buffy character who was turned on by a girl who could beat him up. I think he's just sick enough to fancy her, though he obviously won't play on it. Her being a mudblood and all. I hadn't considered removing Marietta's curse. Might do it if I need to fill a space in a chapter sometime soon.

**JessAngelus** Maybe I just like teasing you.

Catalytic Angel She had to leave because she wanted to protect her parents, who thought they were protecting her. The Watcher's Council is in England, but they don't know that their Slayer is a witch because Merrick hid it from them and Giles never told either when he became her Watcher. 

**Tdk** The last chapter was Buffy reminiscing about when she was first learning about how magic effects the Slayer, followed by her being presented to the school, then Harry and Ron told her what happened while she was away, but instead of having the whole conversation I just recapped the important bits. So chapter 9 takes place in one day. Hope that clears things up.

Dozy.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11.

The week began to pass more quickly after the first day. Buffy found that, although she was still the object of a lot of curiosity, most people were becoming accustomed to her presence among them. She even managed to get Neville, who had been fleeing any room she entered, to sit down and talk to her about Herbology.

With her various tutoring sessions and large amounts of homework, Buffy barely had time for anything else until Friday evening, after her meeting with Flitwick. She remembered her resolution to look up legilimency. Hours later she sat in the library with stacks of books in front of her.

It seemed legilimency wouldn't allow Snape or Dumbledore to hear her thoughts, just see images that were at the forefront of her mind. To get any more than that they would need an incantaion. Even then the pictures would be disjointed, fragmented, unless the person under the spell was a willing participant. Without the incantation the technique could also be used to determine direct lies as the liar would automatically bring the image of the truth to the foreground and the caster would be able to weigh it against what they were being told. Eye contact was always necessary.

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief. By keeping as close to the truth as possible she had not only ensured that she could keep her story straight, but even a skilled legilimens would have difficulty finding the truth, unless she allowed her mind to wonder to fighting techniques while having a staring contest with Snape. All she had to do was control her line of thought while in his presence and she would be fine. It wouldn't protect her against an all out attack, but it was a start. She would have to rule out occlumency as a defence. Most likely she could teach herself some of the mind clearing techniques, but she would need an instructor to really know if she was getting anywhere and she couldn't take the risk of having her mind broken into.

Idly, she wondered why Harry hadn't been able to pick this up quickly. The books said that anyone who could fight off mind control techniques, such as the imperious curse, would have a natural advantage. The lessons with Snape really must have been a fiasco. She idly contemplated bashing the ex Potions Master over the head with a cauldron in revenge for her friend. If nothing else it might make him a bit better looking.

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Saturday dawned crisp and cool and Buffy was sure it was going to snow soon. She was looking forward to it, there was nothing like Hogwarts covered in snow and she had missed it last year. Instead she had had a sunny Californian winter, complete with blistering sunshine and days at the beach. She decided to spend the morning training in the Room of Requirement while Harry, Ron and Ginny were at Quidditch practise, then headed down for a quick lunch in the Great Hall before running down to Hagrid's cabin.

She heard Fang barking and Hagrid calling, "Fang! Back!" before the door was opened.

Buffy was very fond of Rubeus Hagrid. He was a very big man with a very big heart and had always had a kind word for her. His penchant for dangerous creatures and the fact that he was a half giant meant that many people regarded him as some kind of monster himself, but Buffy had always been able to see the kind soul inside.

"'Ermione!" he said gruffly, pulling her into a hug that made her glad she was the Slayer. "Bin wonderin' when yeh'd get 'ere." He closed the door behind him, pulling on his huge moleskin coat.

"I wanted to come sooner," she assured him as they started walking towards the gates. "I've just been so bogged down with work."

"I understand," Hagrid said. "It's not bin the same withou' yeh though. Everyone missed yeh."

"I missed you too, Hagrid. Now I' back I don't know how I managed to stay away for so long. Wondering what was going on back here and how you all were was driving me crazy."

They walked in silence for a while, then Hagrid asked, "Are yeh staying 'ere for chistmas?"

"Nope," Buffy said happily. "Ron and Harry are going back to London to spend it with the rest of the Weasley's and asked me to go along. It's not quite the same as having it at home with my mom, but that's not possible so…" She shrugged. "Mrs Weasley wanted us all to go to the Burrow, but they feel it's too exposed out there in the countryside, with the war escalating and all."

"Course it is," Hagrid agreed. "Specially with You-Know-Who having vampires on his side now."

Buffy stopped in her tracks. "What?" She knew that he'd had that one that had joined the attack in Sunnydale, but had hoped that the rest had been too proud to sign up. Vampires were notorious for their pride.

"Mebbe I shouldn't a told yeh that," Hagrid said awkwardly. "Don' go tellin' anyone, eh?"

"I won't," Buffy said quickly. "How many vampires does he have on his side?"

Unfortunately Hagrid, after slipping up once, held on to anything else he knew for dear life. "Can' tell yeh that, Hermione."

"Didn't think so," Buffy said moodily. "Worth a try though."

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Hagrid led her directly to Gladrags upon entering the village and Buffy was fitted for her very own school robes. It took some doing, but she managed to persuade Hagrid to let her go to the bookshop where she purchased a book on meditation techniques. Perhaps it would help her learn some semblance of occlumency. After that it was much easier to talk her companion into stopping at The Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer.

The two of them took seats at the bar where Madame Rosmerta quickly served them drinks. Buffy wasn't surprised to see that the pub, while still fairly busy, was nothing like it was on a Hogsmeade weekend, when all the students made a point of stopping here. They'd been sitting for only a couple of minutes, with Hagrid attempting to flirt with one of the barmaids, when someone caught Buffy's eye. He was a tall man with dark hair and the kind of face that just screamed, 'I'm up to something.' He came up and ordered a firewhiskey and Buffy lowered her head, allowing her hair to cover her face while she took a closer look. 'Wonder what he's doing here,' she thought to herself.

He went and took a seat, facing the door, which meant he had his back to her. "Hagrid, I think I just saw an old friend. Do you mind if I go over and say hi?"

Hagrid pulled his attention away from the barmaid for a second. "Don' be long," he cautioned. "I've got ter get yeh back ter school soon, or Professor McGonagall will 'ave my hide." With that he turned back to the young lady behind the bar.

Buffy walked towards the man she had noticed, carrying her drink. She hoped no one would wonder what a sixteen-year-old girl was doing with the more mature man as she sat down opposite him. "Hello Ethan."

Ethan Rayne had been an old friend of Giles' from his rebellious youth. Where Giles had grown up and become more responsible, Ethan had clung to his days of raising demons and now literally worshipped chaos. His eyes widened in surprise and he made to stand, probably thinking of leaving the country as soon as possible considering their last meeting, but Buffy caught his forearm, making no effort to hide her Slayer strength from him. She squeezed ever so slightly, causing him to wince in pain. "Sit down," she told him. "You don't want to appear rude now, do you?"

Ethan dropped back into his seat. "No. Can't have that," he said with mock cheerfulness.

"So what are you doing here?" Buffy asked, all business. "Come to wreak a little havoc?" She had encountered Ethan twice recently. The first time, only a month and a half ago, he had invoked a demon to turn them all into their Halloween costumes and the second, he had come running to Sunnydale when Eyghon, a powerful demon he and Giles had summoned as teenagers for fun, had returned to kill him and the other members of the cult. The last Buffy had seen of Ethan was him running for his life after he had tattooed the mark of Eyghon onto her shoulder, a cowardly move that had turned the demon's attention from him to her.

"How well you know me," the older man replied. "I was planning on raising a demon and sending it up to the school, give the kids a good send-off."

"Giles never told me you were a wizard," she said, ignoring that information for the time being. Ethan was likely to give up any plans he had now anyway.

"That's because I'm not."

"Squib?"

"No," Ethan replied. "My brother was a wizard. He was a- what do you call them? -Oh yes, muggle-born. I can't actually see the school for myself, but I know it's there." He looked at her and the surprise must have shown on her face, for he said, "it's a different type of magic, you know, demon raising and so on. One like you couldn't do it. The magic in you is too pure. If I were a wizard my magic would have stopped me raising Eyghon, too."

"You did it because you were jealous?" Buffy asked incredulously. "I wondered what your reasons were. I knew Giles only got into it all 'cos his family were forcing him to be a Watcher, so he rebelled, but you did it because you never got a Hogwarts letter and you were jealous."

"Very astute," he complimented her, raising his glass as though to toast her. "Can you blame me? You have all this magic handed to you with a magic wand. I, on the other hand, have to work for it and can never achieve quite the same results." He watched her over his drink. "What about you? What's a Slayer doing in a dive like this?"

"Ssh!" Buffy looked around quickly to check no one was watching.

"Don't worry about it. These people wouldn't know a Slayer if you walked up to them and staked them."

Buffy's eyes snapped back to him. "They really don't know about the Slayer?"

"Of course not," Ethan said. "The information was restricted a long time ago."

"Ok. You better make with the splainy and quick, or I'll follow through with the threat I made last time I saw you and hit you 'til you bleed."

"Actually," Ethan said with the hint of a smile. "I will tell you everything. I might even be persuaded to part with the source of my knowledge, so Ripper can authenticate it for you. In return I want to see him in person and you will turn a blind eye to any of my schemes you happen across."

Buffy looked over to Hagrid. He was still engrossed in watching the barmaids at work. "Let's go for a walk."

She was surprised that Ethan actually followed her out to the street and to a nearby alley, where they could speak with some semblance of privacy. She would have remained in the pub, but there was something she was itching to do, that Madame Rosmerta would probably have thrown her out for. When she was sure they were out of sight, she spun and punched Ethan on the nose.

"Tell me what you know. I will not be making a deal with you and you will not be seeing Giles."

"So he's not here then," Ethan deduced. "Which means you're not here as a Slayer. Therefore you must be here as a witch. Now that is valuable information indeed. What the Watcher's Council would give to-"

Buffy punched him again, harder this time and he went sprawling out on to the cobbles. "If you tell them I will hunt you down and there is nowhere on this Earth that you can hide from me."

"Ah, but you're a Slayer, Slayers can't kill humans," Ethan pointed out, climbing back to his feet.

"I'm also a witch and can cast the kind of curses that would make the whole Eyghon thing look like a kid's prank. Now. Tell. Me," Buffy said the last three words slowly and clearly and so that he couldn't possibly misunderstand her, she raised her fist.

"The Watcher's Diaries!" he almost yelled, eyes focused on her fist.

Buffy lowered her arm. "What about them?" she asked, her voice still dangerous.

"I have them," he shrugged. "Not the recent ones of course. The ones that were supposed to be destroyed hundreds of years ago."

"What _are_ you talking about?"

"Back when that school up there was still only a hundred years or so old, the wizards knew all about the Slayers," he told her. "They could request aid if they needed it and the Watcher's Council sometimes sent their girl to help out with their problems."

"So what went wrong?"

"There was a Dark Lord of some description, decided that the Slayer of the time would make an excellent pet. He came up with spells specifically aimed at Slayers that would give him complete control over her. She became his weapon. She wasn't a witch, but she seemed to have some kind of resistance to most spells." Ethan grinned at her, "she _decimated _the wizarding population of the time, until some ministry official decided to recruit the vampires to kill her. When the Council found out they were furious."

"What happened to her?" Buffy's voice shook as she spoke. She couldn't imagine what it was like to be forced to kill people, if it was her she would have tried to kill herself probably.

"She fought everything that came after her, girl was good, but eventually one of the demons did what the humans couldn't and disrupted the spell on her. She took her own life." Ethan seemed almost delighted by all this.

Buffy felt close to tears. "I don't blame her."

"The Ministry for Magic immediately requested that the next Slayer come to help them with this mess and the Council refused." Ethan shrugged. "Didn't want to lose another girl the same way. The wizards eventually dealt with the Dark Lord themselves and started to rebuild, but the feud with the Council had already begun. I won't bore you with the details, but it got messy. Both sides felt they should have control of the Slayer and fought over her."

Buffy frowned thoughtfully. "Why isn't any of this in the history books? I looked, I know I would've found it if it was there."

"Because the Council won and demanded that any reference to the Slayer be stricken from the books. You might find vague mentions of girls with powers, but never the word Slayer. The only true records the wizarding world has are probably in the ministry archives. The Council wanted to keep the Slayer line away from the wizards, fearing not only another Dark Lord controlling her, but the dependence the wizards had shown on her. Their solution the first time had been to have the girl killed and then use her replacement to save the world," he smirked at her. "What do you think they would have done to the next one? The Council broke off all communication with the magical community to protect the Slayers and eventually people forgot. Now as far as they know there is no such thing as a Slayer, no one up at that school has ever even heard of one."

Buffy stood quietly, digesting this new information. "How do I know all this is true?" It was Ethan after all.

"I told you. I have the Watcher's Diaries from that time. Any that mentioned the wizards were supposed to be destroyed, I don't know why they weren't" He added slyly, "If you want them, they're yours, but not unless I get to hand them over to Ripper personally. It's not like you'd be able to read them anyway, most of them are in old forms of English."

"Fine," Buffy said, glancing at her watch. "I have to get back, but I will send you an owl when Giles is ready to collect. It may take a while."

"Not a problem," Ethan nodded.

Buffy began to walk away, then tuned back to the irritating Englishman. "Remember, if you tell anyone about this, I will make your life a living Hell." She didn't trust Ethan as far as someone that wasn't her could throw him, but she knew that he was a coward and her threats might be just enough to keep his mouth shut.

"My lips are sealed."

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After leaving Ethan in the alley, Buffy went straight back to The Three Broomsticks and was glad to see that Hagrid had not missed her yet. She got his attention and they left quietly.

They got back to Hogwarts to find everyone talking very excited about the upcoming Christmas party. Apparently Professor Slughorn, the new Potions Master, was hosting it for those students who were part of 'The Slug Club.' This club was the students who he believed showed great potential, or were related to someone high up, or in Harry's case, was already famous on their own. Upon reaching the common room she was surprised to find that she too was invited to the party. No doubt Slughorn had decided that her reputation as Hogwarts best student combined with her relationship with Harry and the reaction she had received her first day back, made him think that she warranted an invitation. It probably wouldn't be too bad, she mused. Harry would most likely be going so she'd have a friend there. Maybe she could invite Ron as her guest and the three of them could hang out. The thought of taking anyone romantically made her think of Angel so that was definitely out.

She sat down with Ginny and the boys who were talking about Quidditch of all things. She sat listening to their conversation, feeling a bit lost when they mentioned something about last year's tournament, when someone spoke from over her shoulder, making her jump out of her skin.

"Can I talk to you?" Buffy looked up into the face of a seventh year she didn't know by name. He was rather large and had wiry hair.

"What about?" she asked suspiciously.

He didn't appear to want to say anything in front of her friends, who had now stopped their discussion to stare at him. Ron seemed rather belligerent. "I, er, I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to go to Slughorn's party with me."

"Oh." Buffy instantly felt sorry for him. It wasn't easy to ask a girl out in front of her friends, especially with Ron glaring at you like that.

"Don't worry about it," he said, obviously sensing that she was going to decline. He started to leave.

Before he could leave Buffy quickly said, "I'm sorry. It's just that I have a boyfriend back in the States. I'm really sorry."

He smiled at her deprecatingly. "It's alright." He shrugged and left.

Ginny laughed quietly. "I told you!" she crowed. "It's that element of mystery. I could have every guy in school chasing me too, all I have to do is disappear for a year."

"It's not funny."

"She's right," Harry said, surprising them all.

"Thank you, Harry," Buffy said, glad to have someone backing her up.

"If it had been Malfoy, now _that _would have been funny."

Buffy slapped his arm lightly. "When are you gonna stop teasing me about that?"

"Never!" Ginny exclaimed. "Hey, Ron, what's wrong."

Ron was looking pensive. "Do you really have a boyfriend?" he asked Buffy.

"Yeah. I do."

"Oh."

"Really?" Ginny bounced excitedly. "What's his name? What's he like? _Why didn't you tell me before_?"

Buffy grinned at her enthusiasm. "Angel, amazing and it just never came up."

"You're going out with someone called Angel!" Ron said incredulously.

"Uh huh."

"Do you have any pictures?" Ginny asked hopefully.

"No," Buffy replied sadly.

"Get him to owl you one then," Ginny insisted. "I'd love to see what he looks like."

"You know that's not a bad idea," Buffy said, nodding. "I'll write him right now." She went to her room and retrieved parchment and a quill. She really wanted to send Angel a letter, but thought there was someone else she should owl first. She couldn't take the risk of writing to her mother, Willow or Xander. If the letter were intercepted then she would be leading the Death Eaters right to them. Giles, however, was a different matter. Unlike the other three, he had signed up for this, maybe not willingly at first, but he had made an informed decision to join the fight. She didn't want him in danger, either, but she needed his advice after her meeting with Ethan and maybe she could couch it in terms that would make it look like she was asking for study help or something. That wasn't anything unusual for Hermione Granger to do and would stop anyone who read it from realising exactly what Giles meant to her. If they didn't know that, they probably wouldn't think to use him to get to her.

_Dear Mr Giles,_ she wrote finally. That sounded quite formal.

I had a conversation today that might interest you. Well, this person I spoke to- he has quite an interest in enchanted costumes- expressed a desire to meet up with you to talk about some of the things we discussed. He intimated that he had documentation that would interest you. I think you would be very interested in meeting with him. He certainly seemed eager.

_I wouldn't normally bother you with this, but I think you know that I, personally, have an interest in this subject and would like to be kept up to date with any progress you make._

_Yours Sincerely_

_Hermione Granger._

Buffy read it over and over before taking the missive to the Owlery. She seemed to get all her points across without the letter getting personal. She hoped he got the message about Ethan being over eager to meet with him; something was definitely off about that. She didn't want Giles walking into a trap.

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The next couple of days reminded her just how magical Hogwarts was at Christmas. It snowed quite heavily one night, leaving the grounds covered in white. The Great Hall was decorated with the biggest trees imaginable and the air itself seemed alive with anticipation. There were snowball fights that lasted for hours, couples building snowmen together and best of all, in Buffy's opinion, long hours of sitting by the roaring fire in the Gryffindor common room with a good book.

The meditation techniques had proven simple enough, many of them merely built on her concentration training with Giles, where he would attempt to teach her how to sense vampires. He didn't know that she already had that skill down to an art form. It was far more fun to let him think she didn't. He'd get all exasperated and clean his glasses a lot.

Buffy was overjoyed to discover that Harry was just as popular with the ladies of the school as she herself was with the men- she used that term loosely of course. Gaggles of girls seemed to have memorised his timetable and waited for him under mistletoe, hoping to tempt him to a kiss. Harry was mortified, but Ron found the whole thing hilarious. Buffy was torn between amusement that the girls had picked one of the shyest guys in school to idolise and pity that Harry, who hated his fame so much, was forced to put up with it. He began taking shortcuts everywhere hoping to throw them off and was spending as little time in the Common Room as possible, so he could avoid the amorous Gryffindor girls who all seemed to want him to take them to the party.

Buffy innocently suggested that he ask someone to get them to leave him alone, but he told her there was no one he wanted to go with. Unfortunately for him, she didn't miss the look he shot at Ginny as he said this. Buffy stifled a laugh. 'How ironic that he finally notices her when she's with someone else. I guess it's true what they say, a man doesn't know what he wants until he suddenly can't have it.'

Buffy herself had asked Ron if he would go with her as friends, but he had declined. She remembered Ginny telling her that he was seeing Lavender Brown, a fact that filled her with relief, as she had been worried that he fancied her. With Ron otherwise engaged Buffy decided to help Harry out and suggested they go together. This was great for both of them as neither one would then have to put up with so many suitors.

When the evening of the party came Buffy decided to dress in muggle clothing. It wasn't really much of a choice; the last dress robes she'd had were for the Yule Ball in fourth year and would never fit her now. She picked out a slinky black dress and sandals and curled her hair with magic. When she was ready she went down to the common room where Harry was waiting.

"Everyone's going to hate me aren't they?" he asked plaintively, once he had put his eyes back in.

"Yep," Buffy said happily. She noticed that Ron was sitting in the corner with Lavender, just staring at her in awe, while Lavender attempted to turn his attention back to her.

Harry and Buffy walked arm in arm through the halls to Slughorn's office, talking jovially about their plans for Christmas. Buffy felt a tinge of regret that she wouldn't be returning to Sunnydale, but was glad that she would still be with her friends. They found the party in full swing, guests were dancing, mead was being drunk and some couples were getting into the Christmas spirit under the mistletoe. Harry led Buffy to the drinks table and they each filled a glass with Madame Rosmerta's oak matured mead.

They had barely been there for two minutes when Slughorn came over calling, "Harry m'boy!" and dragged him off to meet someone, leaving her all alone.

"Hey Granger."

Buffy turned to the new voice. "Urgh! Malfoy. What do you want now?"

"Can't a person just say hello?" Malfoy said, his usual seer gone from his face.

"A person can. _You_ can't." Buffy made to walk away and find Harry.

"Is Potter your boyfriend?"

Buffy sighed. "No. Not that it's any of your business."

"Good." Malfoy seemed glad about that. "Do you want to dance?"

"With you? In front of all those people?" Buffy shook her head with a wry smile on her lips. "Aren't ya scared daddy would find out you were dancing with a mudblood?"

Malfoy's face fell. "Oh. You're right. Maybe we could go somewhere and talk instead."

Buffy shuddered. This was beyond creepy. She would have to shoot him down now and hope that would be the end of it. "Look, Malfoy…"

"My name is Draco."

Buffy just stared for a moment before she came back to her senses. "_Malfoy._ I have a boyfriend. No it's not Harry or Ron, but that's not important. I'm not interested. I never will be. I'm sorry, but that's just how it is."

Malfoy's glare came back in force. "Fine then." Moments later he was storming out of the office door.

Buffy shrugged and went to find someone she actually wanted to talk to.

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A?N: how was that? One of my favourite chappies so far. Not to mention the longest. I'm glad someone reminded me of Ethan, because it was originally supposed to be someone else and I think this works better.

**Allen Pitt** I know what you mean. I didn't want her to just go walking in there and start insulting him for no reason, Buffy may not have a huge amount of respect for authority figures, but she doesn't go looking for trouble. And stay out of my story notes you naughty person.

**Lady Ryn** I think she's a bit more like the old Hermione in this chapter, but then I don't know that there's necessarily that huge a difference in their personalities anyway. The biggest thing is that Buffy has lightened up a lot since her Hermione days and doesn't blindly follow the rules. I feel that Hermione started coming out a bit when she was talking to Giles and the others about magic.

**Whimsy007** Some very good points. Ron and Harry will be understandably upset when they find out, but she's kept this secret from them for almost two years, I can't see her just blurting it out. I see the wizarding world as being a less important secret than the Slayer anyway. Very few people know about the Slayer, outside of the Watchers, but any muggle-born witch or wizards parents know about magic.

Please don't forget to review. Dozy.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12.

Buffy was somewhat quiet on the train back to London. While Harry and Ron played Exploding Snap she hid herself behind a book, not reading, but thinking.

She'd been back in England for almost two weeks now and she was staring to miss her friends from Sunnydale. She, Xander and Willow had been through so much together, like the Inca Mummy Girl or Malcolm the demented robot. It was things like that that made you close friends. It was how she became friends with the boys too, only for them it had been trolls and escaped prisoners.

There was also Giles. He may be a bit straight laced sometimes, but he had always been someone to talk to. He always seemed to have the answer to everything. He was a little like Dumbledore in that way. The only difference was that Giles usually followed her lead and not the other way around. He never treated her like an ignorant little child who needed to be protected.

The person she missed the most though, even more than her mom, was Angel. He understood her better than anyone. He knew when to let her rant and when to step in with some good advice. He knew when to just hold her. He was also really cute and she was completely in love with him.

This wasn't the only thing that was bothering her. The conversation she'd had with Ethan almost a week ago had left her with more questions than answers. Why was he so keen to see Giles? Sure, they used to be friends, but Giles had made it clear the last time they met that any friendship they shared was long over. It had to be a trap, but what for? He couldn't be working for Voldemort, he was a muggle, so it had to be something for his own gain. The man really loved to cause bedlam. He probably had some scheme in mind that would end up with everyone either dead or insane.

She was sure that the Watcher Diaries were important. Giles had told her that every Watcher kept a journal detailing his or her Slayer's life, the monsters they faced, the battles they fought and the thing that eventually killed them. If that were the case then this spell would probably be in one of the diaries. Surely the girl's Watcher would have copied it down as a warning to future Slayers. On the other hand it also explained why the Council would have wanted them destroyed, they wouldn't want that information just lying around. They wanted their operatives, both Watcher and Slayer, to keep away from the wizarding world, because they wanted the Slayer protected, but a Slayer's life wasn't about being protected. Eventually the girl would always seek the wizards out. The slightest mention of the magical community, combined with the Council pretending they didn't exist, would most likely drive any competent Watcher to try and find out why they had parted ways and as it was always the current Slayer's Watcher who kept the diaries they would have the information on hand. That would lead to seeking the wizarding world out and that couldn't be allowed, so as far as the Council was concerned, the diaries must be destroyed.

Why _weren't_ they destroyed though? She'd already answered that question. If the Watcher to the current Slayer had that kind of information on hand and knew what the kind of curse that could control a Slayer meant, they would be hesitant to lose anything that could help should such a thing occur again. They were probably hidden somewhere, just in case and then with time, forgotten.

The very idea of this curse gave her the heeby-jeebies. To be controlled so utterly was frightening and a Slayer forced to take human lives was sickening. Something Ethan had said made her think though. A demon had been the one to finally lift the curse, so it's roots must lie in wicca, as demons could perform that type of magic. That could mean that the curse itself was wicca. Would the Dark Lord of that period have recruited someone who was essentially a muggle to cast the spell? It was possible. Not all Dark Lord's hated muggles and muggle-borns, that was Voldemort's vendetta. Some of them just wanted to rule the world. Would that mean she was safe, because Voldemort would never use a wiccan witch. Not at all. Voldemort would use anyone to get his way and then kill them afterwards.

It was worrying her that Ethan knew this curse. She wouldn't put it past him to go running to Voldemort to make a deal for his own skin and by now Voldemort probably knew all about Slayers from the vampires he had recruited. Of course only a select few knew where she was right now, but what about Kendra?

And then there was the prophecy. Not Harry's one, but her own. All she knew about it was that it was given by a witch and that it was quite old. It was about the first Slayer-witch and something about a secret that would change everything. She was tempted to try and break into the Department of Mysteries herself, just to see if there was a record of it there. Hearing it for herself would be useful.

With a pensive sigh, Buffy lowered her book. Her spirits were lifted slightly when she saw that Ron had singed his eyebrows in the last round and was now sitting with a slightly dazed expression on his face.

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When they reached the station they were met by several members of The Order of the Phoenix. A sea of redheads marked most of the Weasley family, much as the bright pink, spiky hair indicated the presence of Nymphadora Tonks, known simply as Tonks to her friends and anyone else who didn't wish to die a most painful death. With them were Mad-Eye Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt, who were both Aurors like Tonks and Remus Lupin, ex Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor and werewolf. This would be their guard for the journey to headquarters.

Mrs Weasley immediately pounced on her children, amongst whom she also counted Harry and Buffy. Although Moody ad Kingsley kept back, Tonks and Lupin both came forward to greet the kids too. When Lupin reached Buffy he held out a hand as he had with the boys and Ginny. Buffy stared at it for a second, before reaching out for a hug. As he put his arms around her in a brief embrace she thought she saw tears in his eyes. He had been an amazing teacher and friend, but his status as a werewolf made many people hesitant to touch him. Buffy gave him an extra squeeze and then let go. She could feel the tell-tale signs that he was a werewolf that her extra senses gave her, but ignored them and treated him to a brilliant smile.

"It's great to see you again, Professor Lupin," she said.

"You too. You can call me Remus, you know. I haven't been teaching for over two years now."

Before she could answer she was swept into a hug from Tonks, who said quietly into her ear, "This is going to be a cracking Christmas."

The large group made their way out of the station. Harry was clearly annoyed that he was forced to stay in the centre of the group, Ron went to walk with him and Buffy strolled along at Tonks' side. "Are we walking the whole way?"

"Yep," Tonks said chirpily. "It's not far and this is such a large group we'd need several cars." She studied the younger girl thoughtfully. "Ron told me your parents split up. I was sorry to hear that."

Buffy was surprised at how serious the normally excitable Auror was being. "Yeah. Dad went to college in LA so he had friends there. He started hanging out with them every night, we almost never saw him. Mom and dad started arguing about it and then other things. Eventually they couldn't stand to be in the same room together without fighting."

"Must've been tough."

Buffy sighed. "It was even worse when I found out he was cheating on mom with his college girlfriend"

Tonks reached over and put her arm around Buffy's shoulders. They walked in silence for a bit, until Tonks asked, "Your dad went to university in LA? I thought your parents were English."

"Mom was. _Is_. But dad's American. Mom went on holiday over there one summer and they had a bit of a summer fling. He followed her back here, they got married and opened a dental surgery together and had me." She shrugged and then continued, "that's why we decided to move to the States when we left here."

The two young women were so absorbed in their conversation that they didn't realise that they were almost there. Unfortunately Moody had noticed.

"Tonks!" he yelled. "Why aren't you paying attention? If we were attacked you'd be taken by complete surprise."

"Yeah, yeah. I know, constant vigilance," Tonks said cheekily. "It's girl-talk Mad-Eye."

"I don't care what it is," the battered old man growled. "Take up the rear."

"Yes SIR!" Tonks saluted. "Sorry, Hermione. We'll talk later," and she turned and walked to the back of the group.

A few minutes later and they were at the house, number 12 Grimmauld Place. Moody ushered them all in, his magical eye searching all round for anything in the slightest bit suspicious. Once satisfied, he came in slamming the door behind him.

Loud noises were always a mistake in this place. The portrait of Mrs Black immediately began screaming at them.

"BLOOD TRAITORS! FILTH! DEFILERS! HOW DARE YOU DESECRATE THE HOUSE OF MY ANCESTORS…"

Lupin and Kingsley leapt forward, trying to yank the curtains closed. Moody stomped over to help, while Mrs Weasley ushered the kids upstairs with their things.

As they dragged their trunks up the stairs Buffy glanced at Harry. He seemed about as pensive as she had earlier. "Are you alright?" she asked quietly, making sure the others couldn't hear.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Buffy just stared at him, disbelief written all over her face. "Really. It's just the first time I've been back here since Sirius died."

"Oh," Buffy said in sudden understanding. She took his bigger hand in hers, not saying anything, just letting him know she was there.

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That night Buffy had trouble sleeping. Not only did she have a lot on her mind, but she was also starting to feel the effects of not having slain for a while. While training was a help, it couldn't completely satiate her Slayer side. Her muscles itched for combat, her blood tingled with the need to slay something.

She turned over restlessly. If only there were vampires in the Forbidden Forest. Then she could have been going out every night on patrol. Lavender and Parvati were deep sleepers, they'd never have even known she was gone.

Buffy sat up, sighing. This was useless. This was a big city, there had to be vampires somewhere around here. If anyone heard her she could say she was just going for a drink of water. Making her decision, she got up as silently as possible, so as not to wake Ginny. She dressed in jeans and a hooded sweatshirt and slipped trainers on her feet. Quietly she opened her trunk and removed a couple of stakes and one of her favourite knives then she pulled on her dressing gown to hide that she was fully dressed, just in case anyone was still awake.

Seconds later she was tiptoeing down the stairs. Fortunately no one was up, so she went through the front door, being careful to close it slowly behind her and threw her dressing gown into a nearby bush. She could retrieve it later.

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It was three hours later that Buffy cautiously reopened the door, sticking her head through to make sure no one was about. She couldn't hear anything, so she slipped in, putting her dressing gown back on over her clothes.

She started to sneak up the stairs when a thought occurred to her. She could do this every night, but it was risky. If she made too much noise on the stairs she might wake the portrait and that would wake everyone in the house. Was there something a Slayer could do to remove it that a witch or wizard couldn't? Maybe she could just yank it off the wall, permanent sticking charm, be damned.

With a quick glance up the stairs to make sure no lights were on anywhere, Buffy stepped to the drapes that hid the evil woman. Even if this didn't work and she only ended up infuriating the portrait, she could easily talk her way out of it and this was definitely worth a try.

She eased the curtains back, praying that the portrait was sleeping. To her relief she saw the ugly face of Sirius' mother lolled back, her mouth open and an ungainly snoring sound coming from her. Shuddering, Buffy studied the edge of the frame, looking for a place to grip. Wedging her fingers into the biggest gap she could find, Buffy gathered her strength.

"What are you doing, mudblood?"

Buffy gasped and looked around. "Who's there?"

"You really aren't very bright are you, girl?"

Buffy's eyes narrowed suspiciously and she turned to look at the portrait. Mrs Black was awake. No wonder she hadn't recognised the voice, she'd never heard her speak below a window-shattering scream.

"I demand you tell me what you are doing at once."

Shaking off her surprise, Buffy said, "I was planning on tearing you off the wall."

"HA! Do you know what a permanent sticking charm is, you ignorant baffoon? You could never hope to remove me," Mrs Black sneered.

Buffy shrugged and moved back to the edge of the frame. Mrs Black must have known that there was at least a chance she could do it.

"If you don't unhand me at once I shall scream," she threatened.

"Oh no," Buffy said sarcastically, not wanting the portrait to know that was the worst thing she could possibly do. She wished she could perform a silencing charm.

Mrs Black drew in a deep breath.

Without thinking, Buffy's hand shot to the knife concealed beneath her robe. In one motion she plunged it hilt deep, right into the portrait.

Mrs Black exhaled in shock. Buffy stepped back expecting to see an angry look on the old cow's face, but what she saw was pure terror as the portrait's eyes focused on the knife protruding from her chest. The paint around the knife should have been black, but even as Buffy watched she saw it turning into a dingy grey as the colour was literally leeched from around it. Moments later, paint was rolling down the handle and Buffy dragged over the hideous troll umbrella stand to sit underneath and catch the drips.

Mrs Black's mouth was working furiously, as though she was trying to yell at her, but nothing was coming out. Buffy could only stare as the paint slowly drained from the portrait along the knife and into the umbrella stand.

When the portrait was completely paint free Buffy reached up and yanked out her knife. She couldn't believe it was that easy, one little stabbing and Mrs Black had been silenced forever. She pulled the umbrella stand back to it's previous position, glad that no one ever used it, except Tonks when she felt like tripping over it, then closed the curtains over the blank (but a nasty yellow colour) canvas. With a happy smile she surveyed the scene. Nothing was out of place. Unless someone actually opened the curtains they would have no idea anything had happened.

Back in her room Buffy undressed and climbed under her covers. She winced when her shoulder hit the bed. She had a rather nasty bruise there from when a vampire had thrown her into a wall.

It hadn't been a particularly challenging night as far as slaying went. She'd caught two sneaking around near a night club, waiting for people to leave and another one she had caught in the act of rising. It turned out there was a cemetery not far from Grimmauld Place. No, the most exciting event by far had been the death of Mrs Black. When it came to the undead, London was no Sunnydale, but it would have to do.

Buffy felt far more relaxed now than she had earlier and soon drifted into a peaceful sleep.

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Christmas in Grimmauld Place wasn't quite as jolly an affair as everyone had hoped. Buffy could tell that Harry was thinking a lot about Sirius as this was the first Christmas after his death, so everyone tended to walk on eggshells. Mrs Weasley outdid herself with a wonderful feast, where they were joined by nearly all the Order.

On the twenty-eighth there was an Order meeting. The night before, vampires had attacked Diagon Alley and killed quite a few people. Buffy felt a little guilty as she may have been able to stop it, but tried not to dwell on it. She had a lot of experience with people dying just because she wasn't there. Giles had often told her that she couldn't be everywhere at once, nor was she an all-knowing deity that could predict where there would be an attack, in which case it couldn't possibly be her fault.

While the meeting took place in the kitchen, Buffy, Harry, Ron and Ginny sat quietly together in the boys' bedroom. Buffy knew she wasn't the only one frustrated at being kept out. The two Weasley's felt left out as they were the only members of their family- Percy no longer counted in their opinion- who weren't part of the Order. Harry felt that he should be there because of everything he had done over the years. Buffy suspected he also wanted to be there because of the prophecy. She'd guessed that was the big secret he was hiding from her, somehow he knew what it said, even though it was smashed, but she wasn't about to demand he tell her as she may have done in the past. She had expected there to be some trust issues after all and she wasn't exactly telling them all her biggest secrets either.

Buffy herself was finding it difficult to be sitting here like a good little girl while the big meeting was happening downstairs. She may not have always had something to contribute, but she had always been let in on the Scooby meetings and it rankled that now she was being treated as a child. Granted she technically was to them. It would still be almost another month until she was seventeen and could do magic outside of school after all, but she had saved the world! She could handle herself. She had taken on a lot of bad guys and come out on top.

She pouted slightly. "I wish I knew what they were talking about."

"Probably the attack at Diagon," Ginny said rationally.

"We already know about that, so why can't we be a part of the meeting," Harry demanded angrily.

"It's not fair," Ron agreed. "Even the twins get to be there."

"We should totally crash it."

The other three teens all looked at Buffy in amazement.

"I never thought I'd see the day," Ginny muttered under her breath.

Ron looked excited for a second. Buffy thought it was probably because Hermione had just stepped into the dark side as far as he could tell. Then his face fell. "Mum's probably made the door imperturbable so we can't use Extendable Ears."

"And they'd kick us out the moment we walked in," Harry added. "We're _too young_ after all." The words 'too young' sounded like a pretty fair impersonation of Mrs Weasley.

"We could go and sit on the stairs," Ginny suggested. "Sometimes they're still talking about stuff as they leave. We _might_ hear something."

"It's the best idea I've heard yet," Buffy agreed.

The four trooped out to sit on the stairs, high up enough that they might not be seen.

"I wonder how much longer they're gonna be," Buffy whispered.

As she finished speaking there was a loud bang that reverberated around the hallway.

"What was that?" Ginny squealed.

All the Order members came running out of the kitchen in alarm. Mrs Weasley saw the four kids at the top of the stairs.

"Go back to your rooms," she cried as another bang sounded. It was almost like someone was throwing large rocks at the house, but that was impossible. Grimmauld Place was protected by a Fidelius Charm, if anyone was outside throwing things, they would have to have been told the location by Dumbledore. Everyone who knew was either in the house or would never do such a thing.

Mrs Weasley came up to them, dragging Harry and Ron by the arms to their rooms. "You're safer out of the way," she insisted. Ginny gave it a moment's thought and then followed, but Buffy stayed where she was. Mrs Weasley probably expected her to just follow along as the old Hermione would have done.

As another loud bang came Dumbledore raised a peculiar silver shield. Buffy had never seen anything like it before. As the old wizard stepped forward and yanked the door open, Buffy stepped back into the shadows. She could suddenly sense a vampire and didn't want to let him see her until she was ready.

Every Order member was now pointing his or her wand at the open door. "Who's there?" Dumbledore called softly.

A figure stepped up to the door. He was a good-looking man, or vampire, with platinum blond hair. A scar over his eyebrow gave him a dangerous look, as though he had been in many fights before and knew how to handle himself. Buffy stifled a gasp. It was Spike.

"'Bout time," he said conversationally. "And you can put those things away, they won't do you any good."

Nobody moved. "What do you want?" Dumbledore asked him.

"Oh. Right," the vampire said quickly. "I want to see the Slayer."

Buffy grimaced. This wasn't good.

"I'm afraid that I do not know what you mean," Dumbledore said simply. Out of the corner of her eye Buffy saw Tonks lean over and whisper something in Moody's ear. Kingsley's eyes had widened marginally, but no one else had reacted.

"You know who I mean," Spike said impatiently. "Blonde, about yay high," he waved a hand at Buffy's approximate height. "Pretty little thing, goes by the name Buffy Summers. You know I've often thought she should consider changing her name. It's not exactly intimidating is it?"

This time almost everyone reacted. Tonks glanced up the stairs, a frown on her face and confusion in her currently violet eyes. Whispering broke out among the others as they all wondered what this man wanted with a young girl.

"I am sorry to say that no one by that name resides here," Dumbledore said forcefully. "Perhaps you would like to tell me how you found this house. It is protected after all."

"Maybe from other humans," Spike grinned. "But for me this place is lit up like a Christmas tree."

There was a moment of silence as everyone tried to figure that out. "Vampire," Moody growled.

"Well done. You figured it out. Now send out the girl."

"So you can kill her?" Lupin asked curiously.

"No, not so I can bleedin' kill her. Look, I'm not going to discuss it with you, just send her out like good chaps would you?" The Order just looked at him with raised eyebrows. Spike rolled his eyes. "Slayer! Come out!" he yelled.

Buffy stepped from her hiding place. "What do you want Spike?"

"I only want to talk," he said seriously. "Just you and me."

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Then you can listen while I talk."

Buffy crossed her arms. "What could you possibly have to say that would interest me?" She walked down the stairs, slightly annoyed at the Order members who were trying to stay between her and Spike.

"I'm not telling you in front of this lot," he said, gesturing to the Order.

"So don't tell me. Go home and stop bothering me." Despite herself she was really very curious about whatever he wanted to discuss. She made her way a bit closer to the door, shaking off the hands that tried to hold her back.

Before Spike could answer Mrs Weasley called from upstairs. "Hermione! Where are you? Come up here at once." She appeared on the landing looking a little frantic. "There you are dear," she said spotting Buffy. "Come up here where it's safe."

Spike snorted. "_They're_ protecting _you_?"

"Shut up Spike."

"Excuse me," Lupin said quietly, "but are you really Spike? As in William the Bloody?"

"Yeah," Spike said belligerently. "Heard of me have you?"

"I have an interest in dark creatures," Lupin admitted thoughtfully. "If you are Spike of the Scourge of Europe then it seems out of character for you to just want to talk to a human girl."

"They don't know anything do they?" Spike said to Buffy, clearly beginning to enjoy himself. "I have a proposition for her," he told Lupin.

Buffy looked at him closely, trying to determine if he was lying.

"I think it more likely that you want to show us exactly how you got the name William the Bloody," Lupin said sceptically.

Buffy snorted. "Trust me it's not the way you think."

Spike looked at her sharply. "What've you heard?"

"I looked you up," Buffy laughed at his horrified expression. "I found your obituaries first and then I went back and found some other records of you." She couldn't remember the last time she'd had this much fun. "Imagine my surprise when I found out that Spike, self-proclaimed 'big bad,' was once William, the Malfoy squib."

Spike tried to make a grab at her through the door, but was knocked back by some invisible force. This only made Buffy laugh harder.

"That's not all. After you were disowned by your family you turned to poetry, but you were really bad." Buffy turned to Lupin. "Spike got the name William the Bloody before he ever became a vampire."

"How?" the werewolf asked, surprised.

"Because of his 'bloody awful' poetry!"

There were a couple of snorts and Moody guffawed, but everyone else seemed to not know what to think. Buffy could hear Spike growling at her.

"I didn't come here to be mad fun of."

"Why did you come here?" Buffy asked.

"I told you, I want to make a deal. It'll be worth your while," he promised.

Buffy stared at him for almost a full minute, trying to make up her mind. She really did want to know what he had in mind and she knew she could take care of herself. There would be enough questions anyway, what were a few more? "Fine," she said at last.

"No," Mrs Weasley cried. "He's a vampire, Hermione. You can't go out there."

Moving quickly before anyone could stop her, she ducked past Dumbledore and stepped out into the street. She saw Moody put a restraining hand on Dumbledore's arm and wondered why the most suspicious man in the world was helping her. "I'll be back soon," she said confidently. "I know what I'm doing." With a glance at Spike to get him to follow her she turned and began to walk away from number 12.

As she walked, sneaking glances at the vampire at her side, just in case he decided to attack, she heard Tonks' voice. "Why isn't Mrs Black screaming her head off?"

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A/N: I was gonna put the chat with Spike scene in this chapter, but I think I like leaving it here. A lot of this chapter just came to me while I was writing it, wasn't planned at all, like the Mrs Black stuff. Of course without it the chapter would have been so short I would have to put the Spike bit in. Oh well. Hope you liked it. Let me know what you think, your reviews really do inspire me to want to update sooner. (Hint, hint.)

**Allen Pitt** I love your idea about the Professors seeing the picture. It made me laugh out loud. I hope you like what I did with Spike being the Malfoy squib. That just seems so right somehow. Don't worry, Angel shall be appearing soon. I kind of love Draco being so vulnerable to Buffy in the last chapter, but I think we all know it's a physical attraction only and he didn't really want to _talk._

**Whimsy007** Voldy knows all about the Slayer by now. We'll find out more about the curse and the Watcher's Council's prevention methods when Giles appears and they get the diaries. There's some speculation in this chapter and as it's Hermione doing the speculating I think we can assume she's fairly close to the mark.

James I agree, Buffy does have the bigger secret, but Harry is keeping the biggest secret he knows so to him it's just as important as Buffy's one, especially as it concerns him personally. Don't worry Angel will be coming soon. 

**JessAngelus** Sorry! Still no Angel. Can you forgive me? He is on his way I promise. He was supposed to be in the next chapter and still might be, but I'm not promising anything. By moving the scene with Spike back I may need to wait until chapter 14 to bring him in. Think you can wait that long?

Dozy.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13.

Buffy led Spike to a nearby park she had found one night on patrol. It was late enough that no one would be there so they could talk in peace, so if Spike was lying and it came down to a fight no muggles would be amazed by the sight of a tiny blonde girl fighting a vampire.

Buffy was secretly surprised that no one from the Order had followed them. She had seen Moody restrain Dumbledore and wondered what that meant. Did Moody know something about Slayers? Or did his natural suspicion make him throw Buffy to the lions?

"Ok Spike, It's just you and me. What do you want?"

"You just want to get straight into it then?" Spike asked. "No small talk."

"We're not friends!" Buffy said bluntly. "I'm here because you said you wanted to make a deal. That's it."

"Fine then." The vampire sat down on a nearby swing. He looked at her pointedly until she took the other one. "I'm sure you've heard of this Dark Lord."

"Voldemort?"

"Possibly. Never heard his name. All anyone ever seems to call him is You-Know-Who, or Master."

Buffy nodded. "His name's Voldemort. What about him?"

"He's been sending emissaries to me," Spike said disgustedly. "Seems to think I've got nothing better to do then bow down to his exalted self."

"I take it you don't like this idea," Buffy prompted.

"I call no man Master," Spike told her. "Especially not some puny human." He looked at her seriously for once. "That's not all though, Slayer. I've heard his plans and this guy's psychotic. I would admire it, except that I can see the flaws in his oh-so-brilliant plan to rule the world.

"He wants to kill every muggle, squib and mudblood alive," Spike told her.

Buffy frowned at the word mudblood, but she didn't expect any better from Spike so let it go. "I'm having a hard time seeing where _you_ have a problem with this. You're a vampire, you enjoy killing people and that's exactly what he's offering you, right?"

"Yeah initially," Spike agreed. "But what happens when everyone he doesn't like is dead. There wouldn't be enough humans left to sustain the vampire population and we all starve. That's what the others can't seem to grasp. What happens to us _after_?"

Buffy was taken aback. That was the last thing she had expected to hear. It was brutally honest, she had to admit, that all he was thinking about was himself in the long run. "So let me get this straight. You want to go against Voldemort because you're worried you'll go hungry a few years down the line if you don't?" Spike nodded. "Ok. I understand. I don't like your reasons, but I'll take anything I can get. What did you have in mind?"

"I had to have a plan too? Look, you're the hero, here, not me. You do the planning and if I don't like it I won't do it, deal?"

Buffy blinked. Spike really was the weirdest vamp she'd ever met. "Fine. You said he was sending you emissaries? Agree to work for him. He's got a lot of vampires on his side already from what I've heard so one more won't hurt. I want you to pass on any information you can. Don't use an owl they can be intercepted. I'll find something more secure and contact you."

"Sounds reasonable," Spike agreed.

"This is all going to come down to a huge showdown eventually," Buffy added. "When it does, you fight on my side. And if at any point in the battle I see you snacking on anyone I call a friend I will kill you myself. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Spike said smoothly. "In return you have to grant me and Dru safe passage after the fight. Make sure your boys know not to try and stake us. Not that they could."

"Ok." Buffy wondered if there was something she'd missed. "Can you get to Hogsmeade? I'll meet you at The Hog's Head on 31st January. 7pm. Be there. I'll try to have a better method of communication by then."

Spike nodded. A sudden thought struck Buffy. "How did you find me here anyway? The only people who knew where I was going were my friends and none of them would've told you."

"Your mum did," Spike said with a grin.

"My mom!" Buffy exclaimed, standing up and rounding on him. "What did you do to her? If you killed her, so help me…"

"Calm down, Slayer," Spike said forcefully, also rising. "I didn't hurt her, wouldn't make much sense would it? If I'd killed her I would never get you to agree to any of this. She's fine."

Buffy didn't really believe him. She backhanded him sending him flying over the swing to land painfully on his head. He rolled to his feet quickly. She raised her arm to hit him again, but Spike ducked. "Look Ducks," he said playfully. "We can do it this way and have a jolly old time of it, but if you want to know the truth, you need to try not hitting me."

Buffy took a deep breath. "What did you do?"

Spike grinned. "I talked to her. She was lonely, poor thing. Seemed her only daughter had run off back to England. I offered her a shoulder to cry on and then I left."

"So you came all the way here to look for me? It's a pretty big island. How did you expect to find me?"

"Well, I didn't think it'd be this easy that's for sure," Spike taunted her. "I was planning on going to Hogwarts, but as I was sneaking into King's Cross I recognised your scent. It was only a few hours old at the time and fortunately for me I've gotten to know it pretty well. I spent the rest of that time trying to figure out a way to get you out of the house. Never dreamed it would be so simple. I had this whole plan where I would…"

"Why were you going to look for me at Hogwarts," Buffy cut him off. "Did mom tell you I was a witch too?"

"No, she kept that to herself, but I already knew."

"What? How could you have known? Nobody knew."

"Really, Slayer, it was obvious," Spike chided her. "Sometimes you hold a stake as if it were a wand and there's a certain way a witch carries herself." He sniffed. "I'm surprised Angel didn't notice."

Buffy was reeling from that news. Did all the vamps that used to have connections with the wizarding world know? Or did Spike just make a lucky guess?

"Look, as much fun as I've been having, I need to get back to Dru," Spike told her. Without so much as a goodbye, he turned and walked away, leaving Buffy with a powerful urge to hit something.

Buffy sat back on the swing. She didn't want to go back to the interrogation they were sure to have set up back at Grimmauld Place. Maybe she could find something to take her frustrations out on.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hello." The redhead picked up the phone on the second ring.

"Willow? Is that you?"

"Buffy?"

"Yeah, hi Will."

"Oh my God! I wasn't expecting you to call," Willow said excitedly. "How are you? How's England?"

"Um, great thanks. Listen, have you spoken to my mom recently?"

"Yeah, I talked to her the other day. Xander and I are keeping an eye on her," Willow said, unsure why Buffy didn't just call Joyce herself.

"Good." Buffy gave a sigh of relief.

"Buffy, what's the matter?"

"Spike's here."

"Oh." Willow still wasn't sure what that had to do with Joyce. "That explains where he went. The factory he was staying in has been abandoned and there's been a decrease in vampiric activity recently."

"He said mom told him where to find me."

That explained why she was asking after Joyce. "You thought he'd killed her."

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you just call _her_ though?" Willow asked.

"Because I don't wanna make this harder for her," Buffy said sadly. "I'm not gonna be able to make this a regular thing, 'cos there are no phones at school. I just wanted to check, if I called her she'd want me to call all the time. I can't do that to her. I tried to call Giles, but there was no answer."

"Oh, ok."

"So how are things going with the new girl?"

"You mean Kendra? I wouldn't know," Willow knew she sounded a little bitter. "Mr Zabuto refuses to let us help her and she won't even talk to us. They've taken over the library completely."

"What about Giles?" Willow could almost _hear_ the frown.

"He quit. He and Mr Zabuto don't get along too well. Mr Zabuto's the librarian now, but Giles took all his books and that just led to this huge fight, 'cos Mr Zabuto thinks that he should get them because he's the one with an active Slayer." Willow paused for breath. "Giles really misses you."

"I miss him too. I miss all of you. How's Angel?"

Willow hesitated. "We haven't seen him in a while."

"Is he ok?"

"He and Kendra didn't get along. I think they fought. Buffy he left town."

Buffy gasped. "No."

"I'm sorry Buffy."

There was silence on the other end.

"Buffy?"

"I've gotta go Will. Say hi to everyone for me?"

"Yeah I will. Take care."

The line went dead. Willow stared at the phone for a moment, before hanging up.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Buffy returned to Grimmauld Place, almost two hours after she had left with Spike, she was surprised to see someone sitting on the doorstep. "Tonks?"

"Oh, hello Hermione. Sit down," the metamorphmagus gestured to the step and Buffy sat down next to her, wondering what was going on. "I've been nominated as the one to speak to you."

"Really? I'm not gonna be interrogated by the entire Order?"

"Actually, yes, but I wanted to talk to you first," Tonks said quietly.

"What about?" Buffy asked slowly.

"That vampire, Spike or whatever he was called, he called you Slayer," Tonks began. Buffy immediately tensed. Did Tonks know what that meant? "Most of them didn't think much of it, but I've heard that term before. So have Kingsley and Mad-Eye."

"The Aurors," Buffy deduced.

"Yep. Look, I don't know much about what the name Slayer means, I don't think anyone does, but every qualified Auror has heard it."

"Where?"

"In training. It's something they tell you in passing, like 'Don't forget you're not allowed to beat up the victims for information,' but this sticks with you," Tonks told her. "When I heard it I researched everything I could to find out what it meant and I know almost every other Auror trainee ever to go through the ministry has too. Nobody ever finds anything."

Buffy swallowed, feeling a little uncomfortable. What was Tonks trying to say? "Just tell me Tonks."

"They tell you that if you ever come up across a girl who calls herself the Slayer, you do as she tells you or you get out of her way."

Buffy's eyes widened. "Really? They tell you that?"

"I've _told_ people that. Last year I was training a group and I told them the same thing. No one knows what it means anymore, but they still pass it on, year after year." Tonks shrugged. "We thought you should know, before the inquisition."

Tonks stood up and so did Buffy. "So what does this mean? Why did you sit out here for two hours just to tell me that?"

"Of the three of us I'm the one that knows you best. Mad-Eye stopped Dumbledore going after you, you know," Tonks said with a small smile. "It was great. Dumbledore was saying how you were going to get killed and Molly was fretting, but Mad-Eye just stood there and said you could handle it. He was doing what we've been told to do, getting out of your way."

"That still doesn't explain it."

"We wanted you to know that you'd have friends in there tonight," Tonks grinned. "You're not facing the firing squad alone. And if there's anything else we can do, all you need to do is ask. If we can, we'll help." Tonks went to open the door. "That was it really."

An idea struck Buffy. "Tonks wait." The Auror faced her again. "I need to get to the Department of Mysteries. Can you get me in?"

Tonks frowned slightly. "Could be difficult, but I think we could find a way. It might take some time though. We might need to tell the Unspeakables the Slayer part."

"If you do, tell them as little as possible." Buffy thought for a second. "I would probably need to take a muggle in with me. Is that possible?"

Tonks' frown deepened. "I don't know. Why don't you let me see what I can do and I'll let you know as soon as possible."

"Thanks Tonks. You won't tell the others will you?"

"Only Mad-Eye and Kingsley. I'll probably need their help."

Buffy nodded her assent. "Ok, let's go face the music."

The two young women entered the house and Tonks led the way to the kitchen. The entire Order was seated around the table. They all looked up as Buffy entered and she felt her hands shake slightly from nerves.

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, relieved. "I am glad to see you are alright. Please take a seat."

"Where are Harry, Ron and Ginny?" Buffy asked. "I would rather do this all at once."

"Now, dear," Mrs Weasley said soothingly. "They're not in the Order. It would be inappropriate for them to be here."

Buffy huffed slightly. "This isn't Order business, it's _my_ business. And I want them here."

"Very well," Dumbledore conceded. "Molly, if you would be so kind."

Mrs Weasley grudgingly stood and went to fetch the others. Less than a minute later they all burst into the room, looking excited. They cast curious looks at Buffy, probably wondering where she'd been. She doubted they'd been told anything at all so far.

"Please everyone, be seated," Dumbledore began. "Earlier this evening this house was attacked by a vampire," he said for the kids' benefit. "Remus, perhaps you could tell us what you know of him first."

Lupin looked up and nodded. "His name is Spike, he's also known as William the Bloody. Hermione told us earlier that that name was derived from the poetry he wrote when he was alive, but we know that the name Spike came from his penchant for torturing his victims with railroad spikes.

"Although Spike was part of the Aurelius clan, he was always a bit of a loner. He was sired by Angelus, 'the one with the angelic face' at some point and the two of them made up half of the Scourge of Europe, a group of four vampires who terrorised the continent before they all seemed to go their separate ways about one hundred years ago. Not much is known of Spike after that although he does crop up in some fairly historic places."

"Thank you Remus," Dumbledore said sombrely. "Does anyone have anything to add to that?"

"Yes." Everyone looked at Buffy. Most of the adults seemed mistrustful although one or two were trying to look impassive. Professor Snape glared at her and Tonks smiled in encouragement. Harry, Ron and Ginny were staring at her in disbelief. "Most of what Professor Lupin said was correct, but I do want to point out that it wasn't Angelus that sired Spike it was Drusilla. She was part of the scourge too. She's also Spike' girlfriend and incredibly insane."

"Drusilla is insane? Are you sure?" Lupin asked her hesitantly. "Why would Spike have an insane girlfriend? She's supposed to be quite the seer."

"Spike's not exactly a shining example of sanity himself and yes I'm quite sure. I met the vampire that drove her crazy," Buffy didn't want to talk about Angel too much if at all. They would never understand about his soul so what was the point of going into it? "She has a lot of visions, some of them are supposed to be quite accurate."

"Very well. That was quite insightful," Dumbledore now addressed the kids. "Spike insisted that he speak to Miss Granger here alone. She wanted you to be present when she explained."

"Hermione?" Ginny asked nervously. "You know this vampire?"

Harry and Ron were just gaping at her. "The vampire wanted to talk to you alone? Why?"

"Spike wanted to make a deal with me." Buffy looked up to where Dumbledore was standing. "Voldemort's been trying to get him to join the Death Eaters, but Spike didn't want to bow down to anyone. He didn't even work for the Master and I guess Voldemort just doesn't rank on the same scale as far as he's concerned." Buffy ignored the whimpers and gasps that sounded each time she said Voldemort's name.

"The Master," Lupin cut in. "He's the leader of the Aurelius Clan right?"

Buffy nodded. "He was. Spike also said that he didn't like Voldemort's long-term goals. He's worried that by the time it's over there won't be enough blood to go around."

"Was?" Lupin asked, a startled look in his eyes. "I know he went missing in an earthquake a long time ago, but it was widely assumed that that wouldn't kill him. How could you know?"

"That earthquake happened because the Master was trying to open the Hellmouth and failed."

"Wait. The Hellmouth in Sunnydale? Where you were living?" Harry burst out.

"Yep," Buffy confirmed. "The earthquake didn't kill him, but I can assure you he is dead now." She really didn't want to get into this.

"How."

Buffy sighed. "Does it matter?"

"She is obviously making it up," Snape sneered. "How would a little girl know anything about this? Why don't you leave such things to the adults, Granger and go back to your books. You obviously don't know what you're talking about."

Buffy just rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Look, the point here is that Spike is willing to fight for us if we permit him and Dru to leave when it's all done. He didn't say, but I think he has his whole gang here. I spoke to my friend Willow, back in Sunnydale and she said most of the vamps left town when Spike did."

"Do you trust him?" Moody asked gruffly.

"Not at all, but I don't see what's in it for him if he's lying. Vampires are only worried about themselves," Buffy explained. "There's no gain in it if he's just doing this to play us."

"What I don't understand," Snape said coldly, "Is why a powerful vampire is running to a girl who is not even of age yet, to make this kind of arrangement. He should have approached Dumbledore, not this little chit."

"Severus," Dumbledore said sharply.

"It's a fair question, Albus," a man that Buffy didn't know pointed out. "Why her?"

Everyone looked thoughtful at that. Harry and Ron were giving Buffy suspicious looks, they obviously knew by now that she'd been holding a lot back. She only prayed that she wouldn't lose them over this.

"Did you hear what Spike called me?"

"Ooh I did," Tonks waved her hand in the air. "He called you Slayer."

Buffy smiled at her for breaking the tension. "That's right. Do any of you know what it means?"

There was quite a bit of muttering, but no one answered her. Kingsley, Moody and Tonks looked eager, if Tonks was right and every Auror tried to look up the Slayer with no success, they were most likely anticipating her answer more than anyone.

"Does it mean killer?" a fairly young woman asked.

Buffy shuddered. "I don't like that word, but I suppose." Many of the Order members were staring at her as if she were crazy by now, one or two looked disgusted. "I don't kill humans if that's what you're thinking," she said quickly. Looking directly into Dumbledore's eyes so that he could see the truth of her statement, she said, "I'm a Vampire Slayer."

If Buffy expected a drastic reaction to her revelation she was sorely disappointed. "I can see none of you know what that means so I'll just say it. Since the first vampire was created there have been girls who have had the power to fight vampires. They're stronger, faster and thet heal more quickly than regular people too." She glanced at Moody. "That's why the injuries I had from fighting that vampire the night you found me disappeared so quickly. I didn't need treatment, my Slayer powers took care of it."

"Are you trying to say that you're some kind of…" Lupin's voice trailed off.

"Vampire Slayer? Champion? Mystical warrior for the Powers That Be?" Buffy shrugged. "That's me."

"What a wonderful story," Snape drawled sarcastically. "Do you really think we are so stupid as to believe that you could ever kill a vampire?"

"But she did!" Harry jumped to her defence. "The night we met you, you killed one, didn't you, but you said you just frightened it away."

"What was I supposed to say? That I staked her? Neither of you saw it, would you have believed me?"

Harry's expression softened. "Probably not."

"So I did what I always so. What I have to do. Anyone that knows this is in danger, so I lied." Buffy knew that if anyone could understand that it would be Harry. Ron might take a little bit of time to win over though.

"Albus, if this is true…"

"I agree Remus. This could be the answer to the vampire situation. Miss Granger, how many Slayers are there?" Dumbledore inquired gently.

"Um, two? But you can't get help from Kendra, she's a muggle."

"Two?" Snape spluttered. "What good is that? Even if any of this were true, two is not enough."

"I think you underestimate exactly what a Slayer is," Buffy said coldly. "We're used to fighting against incredible odds, that's what we do. We are the first line of defence against the forces of darkness and in the end we fight alone. Don't just dismiss us like you know what you're talking about."

"Miss Granger, you are walking a very fine line."

"So take points Professor, give me detention. Do you think I care?" Buffy demanded. "None of that matters compared to the things that walk the night and if you don't believe me that's fine. It makes my job easier actually." Out of the corner of her eye Buffy could see Ron looking delighted that someone was telling Snape off.

"So you want us to believe that little girls are capable of fighting vampires?" Snape snapped angrily. "Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?"

"Are you just disagreeing with me for the principle of it Professor?" Buffy asked snidely. "Kinda petty don't ya think?"

"You have offered us no proof," the Potions Master said disdainfully.

Buffy shook her head, trying not to laugh. "You got a vampire hidden up your robes? Or did you just want to arm wrestle?"

"Severus, Miss Granger, that is enough," Dumbledore said loudly. "I believe that Miss Granger is telling the truth as she sees it. Molly, I think that is enough for one night. Will you take the children upstairs?"

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Buffy knew that the Order meeting went on for quite some time after Mrs Weasley escorted them to their bedrooms. She could hear raised voices although she couldn't tell what was being said. She and Ginny sat on their beds and stared at each other. Ginny was going over the things that she heard and Buffy just didn't know what to say.

The door creaked open and Harry peaked in. "Can we come in?"

Buffy nodded and gestured for him to take a seat. Ron followed Harry in and the two boys sat, one on either side of Ginny. Buffy felt as though she were facing some kind of interview board, which immediately made her nervous.

"Do you all hate me now?" Ginny half smiled at her, but there wasn't much warmth in it, Ron frowned. It was Harry who surprised Buffy by smiling at her confidently and shaking his head. The boy had really matured over the last year.

"I could never hate you, Hermione," he said forcefully. "I understand why you didn't tell us." Buffy thought he probably did, if her suspicions about the prophecy were correct.

Ron, on the other hand, was having a more difficult time with it. "How long were you lying to us for?"

"Ron, I rarely lie. I sometimes leave things out, but I have almost never lied to you." Buffy was saddened to see that Ron wasn't looking at her, but at a point over her shoulder. "Do you remember the second task of the Triwizard Tournament?" The three teens nodded. "What about afterwards? When we were all out of the water and the points had been given?"

Harry's brow furrowed as he tried to recall. Ginny's eyes widened suddenly. "I wasn't with you, but I remember you telling me that a man had been staring at you. You thought he was some kind of pervert."

"Merrick," Buffy said sadly. "He was what we call a Watcher. That's someone who trains a Slayer, he's a mentor and guardian all rolled into one. He was a guest of Fudge's. He really wasn't expecting to see a Slayer there that day." Buffy lowered her face. It was still painful to think about Merrick sometimes. "A few days later I was walking back from Herbology to go to lunch. I was on my own 'cos I'd forgotten something and gone back for it. Merrick came out from nowhere and told me all of this.

"I didn't believe him at first. I thought he was some crazy person, but he grabbed my arm and we portkeyed to a cemetery. I don't know where it was, not in England, 'cos it was dark there. I almost attacked him then, thinking he was kidnapping me." Buffy smiled slightly at the memory. "Imagine my surprise when a vampire rose right in front of me. Merrick just threw me a stake and said I would know what to do."

Ginny gasped. "You could have been killed."

"Nah," Buffy disagreed. "He was a newbie and I'm a Slayer, even though I hadn't accepted it at that point. I staked him and it was almost easy. Well, if you don't count the fact that I missed the heart on the first try. Merrick brought me home and I swear the first thing I wanted to do was come running to you guys, but he told me that no one could know. Anyone who knows this is in danger just by knowing and I couldn't do that to you." Buffy looked into Ron's eyes desperately. "There was so much going on anyway with the Tournament and then Voldemort came back, I really didn't want to add to that."

Ron nodded slightly, but he still sounded a bit mistrustful. "So why did you really leave?"

"There were so many reasons. My parents were the least of it. They really did have a problem with what was going on. Then there was my training. It was so difficult finding time to sneak away to train, Merrick was always telling me I was making his job harder by refusing to leave. On the nights that I managed to get away he would portkey us to some vampire hotspot and I would patrol."

"Why didn't you just go to the Forbidden Forest?" Harry asked as if that would have been obvious.

"The rumours of vamps in the forest are just that. Have you ever seen one there?"

"No."

"There's nothing there for them to feed on," Buffy explained. "They prefer human prey and not enough humans venture in there. The odd student maybe, but not enough for a vampire to live on. I found one in Hogsmeade once, but even there they're rare. They mostly hang out in muggle settings, it's too easy for wizards and witches to escape by apparating."

"So you left to go to a place where you could learn to be a Slayer?" Ginny asked slowly.

"Mostly." Buffy wasn't sure about telling them the last part, but knew that if she wanted to keep them as friends, that now was the time to be completely honest. "There was also a prophecy." Harry's eyes snapped up to meet hers. "Not the one you're thinking of Harry, one about me. You see, there's never been a witch who became a Slayer before. I'm the first and the prophecy said something about how the Dark Lord would want to use me. Merrick convinced me to leave to protect my parents. We all know what Voldemort would do to them to get to me. It seemed like the only way."

It was silent in the room for quite some time, as Harry, Ron and Ginny considered everything they had discovered that night.

Finally Harry took a deep breath. "Hermione," he began. "There's something I want to tell you too."

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A/N: Phew! That was a difficult chapter. Lot's of different conversations that all needed to be said. **CallaRose4ever** has requested that I bring back Sirius. I have no objections to this if that's what the majority wants so let me know in your reviews. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Please review, I really enjoy reading them and they're great motivation.

**Toniboo** I couldn't seem to get Harry to be angry about it. I think he can relate to it a little too much. Oh well, Ron wasn't too happy.

**wolfgirl** I tried to get Angel in, but he didn't quite make it. He'll definitely be in the next one though. I'm glad you're enjoying the fic.

**goddessa39 **Angel will be here really soon now. I'm thinking that Voldy knows all about Slayers by now.

**CallaRose4ever** That's the good thing about this being a fanfic and that it's set before Angel lost his soul. If I don't want that whole curse thing to happen, it won't. Interesting idea about Sirius. Hadn't even considered it, but I can make it work if that's what everyone wants. I've got her headed to the DoM eventually anyway.

**Innogen** Sorry no chip. I don't think I could make that work here. I like dangerous Spike too much anyway. Don't feel too bad about Mrs Black. She deserved it.

**vixen519** The whole Mrs Black thing was really completely unplanned. The whole idea just occurred to me and I went with it. I'm glad I did now 'cos everyone seems to have enjoyed that part the most.

**avidgokufan **To be honest Hermione really annoys me that's why she's a bit more like Buffy. My best friend absolutely detests Hermione and has a lot of really mean names that she calls her. Probably the nicest if Haemorrhoid.

**Silent Me** No cliffie this time. I personally don't like them so I usually try to avoid them, but it just seemed like the best place to end the last chapter.

**Skoellya **Evil Spike rocks. I love him so much. Angel's up next, yay! I'm glad you enjoyed Mrs Black's demise. It was great fun to write.

**Allen Pitt** I try very hard to be original. I've never read any fics with Buffy stabbing the portrait and killing it that way. It sounded like a Slayer way to do it and it was fun so I went with it. The secret is out, but have you noticed that she's still leaving things out? Little details, like 'one dies the next is chosen.' I don't think that Buffy would care how painful the poet thing was, she does hate him a lot and would probably rub it in as much as possible. Angel takes over as the Hogwarts celebrity, lol. He'd have all the girls crazy for him, being so insanely good-looking and all.

JessAngelus Don't hurt me. I swear on my life that Angel will be in the next chapter and I'll get it up as soon as possible. Hope you can survive that long. I did get several mentions of him in this chapter though. 

**VaporficQueen** Malfoys are just a bit masochistic aren't they? Much fun to write though.

Dozy.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14.

Buffy stared into Harry's green eyes, trying to piece together what she had just heard. "You're telling me the prophecy says one of you has to kill the other, that's it?" she asked relieved.

"You're taking this really well," Harry said, surprised by her tone.

"Well, yeah, you had me worried," Buffy said calmly. "It could've been so much worse."

"Worse? How?"

"For one thing, it could have said that he could use you for some nasty ritual, or something. Or it could have just said that he would kill you, no either, or situation." Buffy drew in a deep breath. "This isn't too bad."

"_Isn't too bad_?" Ron exclaimed angrily. "Harry could still end up dead here."

"Yes, but at least this way there's a chance. Better than that actually, as it seems to say the two of them are equal, so it stands to reason there's an equal chance of either one of them winning," Buffy pointed out. "Harry has good odds on survival here. He's also got a Slayer on his side now. You might not like it, but believe me it _will _make a difference."

"You'll help?" Harry asked quietly.

Buffy looked at him as if he were insane. "Of course I will. We may have lost touch a bit, but we were best friends once. I haven't forgotten that. You guys still mean everything to me. I _will_ be there when this all goes down."

Harry's smile brightened the room. "We're still best friends."

Buffy smiled back fondly. "I'm glad."

"How can you say that?" Ron fumed. "How can you pretend you care when you've been keeping this secret from us?"

"Do you think it was easy for me?" Buffy demanded. "Harry had just finished the second task and everyone was worried about who was trying to kill him. I couldn't just dump this on him too. I was spending every spare moment being taught how to fight vampires and then putting it into practise all over the world. Every time I went out there I could have been killed! I had nobody to talk to except for Merrick and he wasn't exactly the most compassionate person. All he would say was that the world rested on _my_ shoulders and it was _my_ duty. Every time I even thought about sharing this with you, I imagined how I would feel if you died because of it and I _couldn't_ do it."

"You told us now," Ron said accusingly. "Do we not matter anymore?"

"What do you want, Ron? You get angry 'cos I didn't tell you and now you're upset because I _did_?"

"I just want to understand it!" he yelled at her.

Buffy's retort died on her lips as she realised that at least part of his anger was coming from confusion and fear. Fear for her. "I'm sorry," she said slowly. "My life is a lot more dangerous than you knew and this is a lot to hear all at once. I understand."

"We were always in it together, the three of us," Ron said, quietly now. "Then you were gone and it was horrible. Now you're finally back and it's like you're a totally different person."

"In a way I am," Buffy said sombrely. "I am the Slayer. I can't change that, no matter how much I wish I could."

"Why would you want to change it?" Ginny piped up. She'd been quiet all this time and Buffy had almost forgotten she was there. "It sounds cool. I know I would enjoy it."

"It's not fun," Buffy said gently. "My job involves putting my life on the line pretty much every night, but I can't just not do it. Too many people die when I take time off. I've seen that happen before. What I do is so important and I'm the only one who can."

"I thought you said there was another Slayer, maybe there are others you don't know about," Harry said quietly.

"I wish there were," Buffy murmured. "That's not how it works. Slayers fight alone. We _are_ alone. I'm incredibly lucky that Giles allowed my friends to be a part of my life. Many Watchers would have refused."

"Giles? The librarian at your muggle school?" Harry asked curiously. "What does he have to do with this?"

"Do you remember I said that Merrick was a Watcher? Well, Giles is too. When Merrick died Giles was sent to take over my training."

"And he lets your friends help you," Ron asked. Buffy nodded. "That's great! So we can help you too."

"No," Buffy said quickly. At Ron's downcast look she added, "Willow and Xander, they knew what they were getting into. They became friends with me even after they knew that I was the Slayer and they were careful. They weren't already involved in a war, they didn't have Dark Lords coming after them. The reason they got into this in the first place was because they lost a friend, Jesse. He was turned and Xander had to stake him. I've not been able to get rid of them since." The last part she said with a fond smile.

"We can be careful," Ron said eagerly, his anger completely forgotten now.

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "You? Careful? This from the two boys who wandered into the Forbidden Forest just to follow some spiders, with only a dog for back up? It's not just that though. You're too dependant on your wands. When you were attacked by that vampire in Sunnydale, you tried to _cast spells_ on her, even though everyone knows that magic doesn't work on them. It's not your fault, that's the way you were raised and it's how you've been taught, but it won't work in actual combat situations."

Ron opened his mouth to respond, but Buffy cut him off. "Wait. Did you hear that?" There was silence for a long moment as everyone listened. "The meeting's breaking up. You boys had better get back to your room, I bet Mrs Weasley will be up in a second to make sure we're asleep."

"Are you sure?" Ginny asked hesitantly. "I can't hear anything."

"Slayer hearing. Quick, go."

The two boys evidently decided she was serious and left the room. Ginny and Buffy pulled on pyjamas and crawled into bed, extinguishing the lights. Moments later they heard footsteps in the corridor, which stopped just outside their door. The girls were silent until they could hear the creaking of the stairs.

"Wow, that Slayer hearing has to pretty useful," Ginny whispered.

"Yeah. It's come in handy a time or two," Buffy replied. "Night, Ginny."

"G'night."

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The last few days of the holiday passed quickly enough. Ron, Harry and Ginny were all curious about Buffy's life as a Slayer, especially Harry and they had some long conversations on the subject, as well as discussing Harry's prophecy. Of course, this all had to be done out of the hearing of Mrs Weasley, who seemed to disapprove of the whole thing. The first time she overheard them talking about it, she gave them all chores to do, which kept them busy the entire day. After that they made sure to keep their discussions private.

By the time they went back to school Buffy was starting to feel like the trio was really back together again, although sometimes they were more of a quartet. Buffy widened her studies to try and find some way to communicate with Spike safely. With any luck she would be able to employ the same method to talk to her mother and friends back in Sunnydale and Angel too if she could figure out where he'd gone.

One evening as Buffy sat in the library, Ginny came in and dumped her things on the table. She slid into the seat opposite and dropped her head into her hands. Buffy could see Madame Pince frowning at the noise, but thankfully she stayed where she was for now.

"You alright, Ginny?"

"No," the redhead grumbled. "Dean's being a git."

Buffy surreptitiously pushed her books to one side. "What happened?" Buffy could feel Madame Pince still watching them, probably waiting for one of them to do something so she could throw them out for disrupting her peaceful library. The librarian hated to see anyone not working in her domain and she had an almost worshipful attitude towards books.

"He won't let me do anything for myself," Ginny moaned. "He won't let me spend time on my own. He acts like he owns me, or something. It's so frustrating."

"So tell him off," Buffy said, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"If I do that we'll just end up having a huge argument and breaking up."

Buffy pulled a face. "Isn't that what you want though? It certainly sounds like it. Or do you not want to break up with him for another reason?"

Ginny looked up at her, guiltily.

"Making Harry jealous won't work, Gin. If you want him, you're gonna have to speak up," Buffy said wisely. "And break up with Dean now, before he figures it out."

Ginny sighed. "I'm too scared to just tell Harry I like him. He has almost every other girl in school after him. I don't want him to think I'm like them. I want _him_ to notice _me_."

"I think he has," Buffy smiled. "Give him a chance, it'll work out."

"Do you think so?" Ginny immediately perked up. "I'm sorry for bringing this up again."

"Don't worry about it, that's what girlfriends are for."

Ginny giggled. "So tell me about this Angel of yours," she said eagerly.

"Well, he's completely gorgeous for one thing," Buffy said, trying to smile. Every time she thought about Angel she got so worried about where he was now, what he was doing and most of all, if he was alright. "I wish you could meet him."

"Is he a muggle?"

"No," Buffy said, unsure if she should tell Ginny the truth or not. Finally she decided not to. This wasn't really the place.

"So why don't you get him to transfer here?" Ginny said excitedly. "Then you two could be together."

"He's already left school," Buffy told her.

"Ooh! An older man," Ginny giggled again. "First Victor Krum, now Angel. You do seem to like _experienced _men."

Buffy shushed her, fearing the wrath of Madame Pince. As Ginny stifled her giggles a book fell from the shelf behind her, slamming into the floor. Madame Pince glared at them and began to stalk over, but Buffy had leapt to her feet and raced around the stacks. She saw a flash of blonde hair leaving the library at top speed and guessed what had happened.

"No running in the library," Madame Pince admonished her. "And how dare you treat these books with such disrespect?"

Ginny and Buffy exchanged a look, grabbed their bags and headed for the door, all the while muttering apologies as Madame Pince berated them.

"What was that about?" Ginny asked once they were free.

"I think Malfoy was spying on us," Buffy said, feeling irritated. "He knocked the book over and then ran. I saw the back of his head as he left."

"Aww," Ginny grinned. "Poor Malfoy, can't get you to like him and now he's spying on you. That boy is just downright pathetic."

"It's creepy," Buffy said with a shiver. "I've told him I'm not interested."

"You shouldn't have beaten him up," Ginny said lightly. "Now you're stuck with him stalking you forever."

Buffy groaned. "He's such an annoying little dweeb."

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He wasn't the only one. Snape was being even worse than his usual nasty self. He seemed to have taken Buffy's claims of being the Slayer personally as if she were trying to say she knew more about dark creatures than he did, which in all honesty, she did, as he proved in their next DADA class.

His announcement that they would be jumping ahead to vampires was met with groans by the rest of the class. Buffy knew he was only doing it in the hope of showing her up. She was determined not to give him that satisfaction.

"How could one kill a vampire, Mr Thomas?"

"Er," Dean looked incredibly flustered at being singled out. "Reducto curse?"

"Incorrect," Snape said greasily. "Anyone else?" Buffy put her hand up. She knew this one inside and out. "No one? How disappointing. A vampire can be killed by stabbing him through the heart with a sharp piece of wood. Can you tell me why Mr Thomas' method would not have worked, Miss Patil?"

Parvati looked stumped for a moment, before taking a wild guess. "Because vampires move to fast to be hit by spells, sir?"

"Wrong. Dear, dear. A sixth year class that knows nothing about vampires. How disappointing," Snape sneered at Buffy. "I think it is just atrocious that not one of you knows that a vampire cannot be killed using magical means."

Buffy took a deep breath. He was trying to bait her into saying something stupid in front of the entire class, probably hoping he could give her detention again. She fixed her gaze on a spot on the wall behind him. Hopefully if she didn't have to look at his ugly face she could pretend that she were somewhere else and thus not lose her temper.

"Can anyone tell me about a well-known vampire? Mr Potter?"

Harry' face remained impassive, but he snuck a glance at Buffy out of the corner of his eye. He'd probably figured out what Snape was trying to do too. "There's Spike, sir." He said calmly, obviously remembering the meeting at Grimmauld Place. "He's named after the way he used spikes to torture is victims. He was sired by a vampire called Drusilla."

Buffy immediately knew he'd said the wrong thing. He had asked Harry for a reason, knowing Harry had been there and heard what Buffy had told them about Spike. Unfortunately not all wizarding documentation was entirely accurate on this point.

"Only half correct Mr Potter. Spike, also known as William the Bloody, was sired by Angelus, not Drusilla. Wherever did you come up with such a ridiculous story?"

Buffy clenched her teeth to stop herself from leaping to Angel's defence. As much as she wanted to clear his name, she wouldn't be able to explain how she knew in front of the rest of the class.

"What else can you tell me about Spike, Mr Weasley?"

Ron thought about it, having some idea of what as going on, he was trying to think what he could say that wouldn't give Snape more ammunition. "He's part of the Aurea Clan?" he asked hesitantly.

"That's Aurelius Clan, Weasley. Who is the current head of this clan?"

"Um," Ron was biting his lip nervously. "The Master?"

"Correct."

"No, wait. Hermione said he's dead," Ron blurted out.

"Anyone who told you such a thing was very much mistaken, Mr Weasley. It is a fortunate thing indeed that this class has now fallen to me," Snape said icily. "I can knock such foolishness from your heads."

The class soon ended fortunately, but not before Snape had taken thirty points from Gryffindor. Buffy had come close to losing it several times, but had barely held herself back. If Snape didn't stop this soon, though, she would be forced to smack some sense into him.

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At dinner that evening, Buffy sat next to Ginny with Ron and Harry opposite them. It was the first evening in a while Ginny had opted to sit with them instead of with Dean, which Buffy took to mean that she had decided to break up with him. Lavender was sitting on Ron's other side, talking to Parvati and Seamus.

Buffy was contentedly listening to Harry and Ron verbally abuse Snape when it happened. A shudder passed through her, making her tense up. It couldn't be. Not here. She tried to rationalise the feeling away and get back into the conversation, but she remained alert.

"Hermione?" Ginny put a hand on her shoulder. "What is it?"

Buffy looked at her worriedly, not sure what to say. "Um," she began.

Before she could say anymore a hush fell over the room. It was a fairly common occurrence at Hogwarts, especially around Harry after an adventure, but Harry was right in front of her and seemed as perplexed as everyone else. "Who's that?" he whispered.

Buffy swivelled on the bench, dreading the sight of a vampire ready to feed, but what she saw made her drop her fork in surprise. "No way," she murmured, getting to her feet.

Standing in the doorway was Angel, looking exactly as he had a few weeks ago. Buffy heard Ron muttering at her to sit back down, but she ignored him and walked to Angel who seemed frozen to the spot by the stares.

Buffy moved across the room as though she were in a trance. Angel was here. The students were now looking from him to her, trying to work out what was going on.

Buffy stopped mere inches from him, resisting the urge to throw herself into his arms. "Hi," she breathed.

"Hi," he said back.

Without a backward glance, Buffy took his hand and led him from the Great Hall. Once away from the entrance Buffy heard the school break out into excited whispers before Angel pulled her roughly to him and kissed her hard.

When they separated Buffy was breathing very fast. She held on to him desperately as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "Is there somewhere a bit more private we could go to talk?" he asked her quietly, glancing at the open doors into the Hall.

Buffy nodded into his chest, not really wanting to move. With a sigh, she pulled away and he followed her into a nearby classroom. "I can't believe you're here," Buffy said giddily.

"I couldn't stay in Sunnydale without you," he said seriously. "And not just because your replacement and I didn't get on. I needed to see you again."

"Willow told me you'd left," Buffy said, with tears in her eyes. "I was so worried about you."

"Ssh. I'm here now." Angel rubbed her back comfortingly. "So is Giles."

"_What? _Giles is here?"

"Actually he's down in the village," Angel gave her a charming half-smile. "He tried to come up to the school with me even after I warned him about the muggle repelling charms. He got right up to the gates and suddenly remembered an ancient text he had to translate."

Buffy grinned at him. "I don't understand though. When I spoke to Willow, she just told me that Giles had quit as the librarian. She didn't say he'd left town too."

"It was his plan all along. You're his Slayer, Buffy," Angel told her gently. "Before I left we talked and arranged to meet in Edinburgh so I could lead him here. He still had things to get together, but I needed to get out of town before Kendra and I killed each other."

"Didn't Giles explain about your soul?" Buffy frowned.

"He did, but I don't think she wanted to hear it. She just said, 'yes, sir,' and then tried to kill me the next time our paths crossed."

"Oh." Buffy couldn't help the smile that came across her face. "I'm glad though, 'cos it means you're here with me."

Angel put his arms around her and kissed her again, far more gently this time. Behind her, someone cleared his throat.

Buffy and Angel parted, almost guiltily. Buffy turned in Angel's arms, relieved to see it was only her friends. Ginny was looking at Angel appraisingly. Angel seemed to sense the hostility that was coming from Ron in particular and tightened his arms around Buffy protectively.

"Hi, guys," Buffy said awkwardly. "I'd like you to meet Angel. Angel these are my friends Harry Potter and Ron and Ginny Weasley."

"It's nice to meet you," Angel said quietly.

Harry and Ron both looked wary. They'd heard about Angel, of course, but they had always been a bit overprotective.

"It's good to meet you too," Ginny said eagerly.

"Angel is it?" Professor Dumbledore said, striding into the room. Snape and McGonagall were right behind him.

"So much for privacy," Buffy muttered.

McGonagall was looking at Angel who had his hands on Buffy's shoulders now, as a sign of support. "May I enquire into the identity of your friend Miss Granger?"

Buffy sighed and quickly introduced Angel to the three professors.

McGonagall had pursed her lips. "I hope I don't need to remind you that fraternising with people from outside the school is strictly against the school rules?" she asked tartly.

"That would be my fault," Angel apologised. "I came all the way from California to see her. She didn't know I was coming."

Buffy could see Ginny cooing over the fact that Angel had come so far for her. Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling merrily. "Ah, young love," he said happily. "I remember how that feels." He laughed at Buffy's sceptical look. "I am not yet so old that I forget such things, Miss Granger. Now, I'm sure you two have a lot of catching up to do, so we'll allow you this evening, but perhaps it would be best to wait until the next Hogsmead weekend before you meet again. Hmm?"

"Surely you aren't about to just leave them to it, headmaster?" Snape exploded. "She, however delusional she may be, is still a student and he is far older. It is entirely inappropriate."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "You're determined to ruin all my fun aren't you?"

Angel looked confused. "Delusional?"

"The girl believes she is some kind of warrior," Snape said, irritably. "She is clearly out of her mind."

Angel growled under his breath. "I suggest you watch what you say about her."

Snape glared back at him. "No doubt you have played some part in this fantasy of hers. Perhaps you pretend to be the vampire she must _slay_. Whatever it is, it has no place in a school."

"Now, now, Severus. That is quite enough," Dumbledore intervened.

"Do they all know?" Angel asked Buffy.

"Yeah."

"You see what I mean Headmaster?" Snape demanded. "He plays into her delusions. There's no telling what kind of mental problems he's causing."

"Why are you so against believing this?" Buffy asked exasperatedly.

"Because it is the most ridiculous thing imaginable. Young girls fighting demons when grown wizards cannot! Preposterous!"

"Then perhaps we'd better prove it to you," Angel said suddenly.

"Angel, no," Buffy said quickly. "You don't have to do that."

"If it helps you, then I have to," he smiled. He turned his attention back to Snape. "What do you know about the Scourge of Europe?"

Snape seemed thrown by the conversation change. "Four vampires, two male, two female terrorised Europe for decades. What else do you need to know?"

"_I_ know them all much better than that. You could say I have personal experience of the Scourge. Spike and Drusilla, Angelus and Darla," Angel lowered his head, nudging Buffy away from him. She stepped back to stand next to Harry and Ron. "I know Angelus particularly well," Angel said, slowly raising his morphed face.

Ginny screamed in Buffy's ear. Harry tried to step in front of Buffy and Ron was attempting to pull her away, but Buffy remained resolute. She shook her arm away from Ron, noticing as she did that everyone in the room had their wands out and trained on Angel.

"You know magic doesn't work on vampires," he said contemptuously. "If I wanted to I could kill you all where you stand and nothing you could do would stop me."

Buffy pushed past Harry to stand in front of Angel again. "Seriously, you can all lower your wands. Angel won't hurt anyone."

"Hermione," McGonagall said tremulously. "Step aside. He's dangerous."

"No, he really isn't" Buffy said impatiently. "He would never hurt me."

"You stupid girl, get away from him this instant," Snape ordered harshly. "Or are you so insipid that you think a vampire is harmless? Perhaps it's the incident with the troll all over again. When will you get it through your skull that you cannot defeat dark creatures simply because you have read about them in a book."

Buffy almost didn't see Angel move. There was a blur and then Snape was on the floor holding his jaw and Angel was standing over him.

"I told you to watch what you say about her," Angel said dangerously, his fangs glinting.

"Look, why don't we all sit down and discuss this rationally?" Buffy said, not hiding her delight at seeing Snape laid out. "Angel, maybe you should take off your game face."

Angel was still glaring at Snape, who was now trying to stand. He didn't react to Buffy's voice. Dumbledore appeared as unruffled as ever and took a seat. After a moment's hesitation McGonagall followed suit, as did Ron, Harry and Ginny.

"Angel?" Buffy stepped in front of him, breaking his eye contact with Snape. "Forget him, that's just the way he is. He likes to talk big, but that's all it is. Talk." She stood on her tiptoes to gently brush his lips with hers, a tricky feat as his fangs were still extended.

Gasps filled the room, not only at the fact that she kissed a vampire, but that the effect on Angel was instantaneous, as his fangs disappeared and his face returned to normal. "I'm sorry, Buffy," he apologised.

"It's ok. I understand," she said gently. Angel sank into a nearby chair, pulling her onto his lap. Snape's lip curled at this as though he was longing to say something about hiding behind a girl, but he seemed to think better of it. His jaw looked like it was starting to bruise, Angel hadn't held back. Buffy looked around at their audience. "Angel isn't the same as Angelus. Angelus may have lived in Angel's body once, but he's gone now. Angel is a good man."

"You can't possibly know that for certain," Snape said, still agitated, but wary.

"I can," Buffy said simply. "He killed Darla right in front of me. She was his sire, but he staked her to protect me. I knew everything I needed to know about Angel in that moment."

"How can this be?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes burning with curiosity.

"I was cursed," Angel said, squeezing Buffy to him slightly. This had always been a sensitive topic for him. "By gypsies."

"Ridiculous!" Snape spat. "Magic doesn't work on vampires."

"I noticed that, thanks," Angel said wryly.

"I must confess, I am somewhat confused," McGonagall frowned. "I too was led to believe that it was pointless to use magic on vampires. There bodies reject it."

"Wand magic maybe, but not wiccan magic. That works just fine." Buffy explained. "It's because vampires can't hold magic in their bodies, but they can still use themselves as a conduit. And Wiccan spells can often be a lot stronger than wand ones, because the witch can call on the power of Gods and Goddesses to power their spells."

"The gypsies used an old wiccan curse to restore my human soul," Angel said quietly. "The demon in me was forced down and I took control of my body again. That was almost a century ago."

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore nodded sagely. "I remember that Angelus disappeared, ninety years ago was it? It was widely assumed that he had left Europe."

"I had," Angel told him. "I spent a great deal of that time barely surviving. I couldn't feed on humans. I _wouldn't._ I nearly died from malnutrition several times, sometimes I wished I could die." Buffy stroked Angel's hair gently. She knew it was difficult for him to talk about such things. He had told her all of this before with difficulty. It must be even worse in front of all these strangers.

"What changed?" McGonagall asked softly.

"She did," Angel said, looking up into Buffy's eyes. "I saw her and she reminded me what it was to be human. I wanted to fight by her side. I wanted to fight _for_ her."

"Giles keeps telling me how poetic it all is," Buffy smiled sadly. "Like we're some kind of modern day Romeo and Juliet." She could see some of them didn't quite understand what she meant, so she clarified. "Angel's a vampire. I'm a vampire Slayer. We're supposed to be mortal enemies, instead we fell in love." Buffy could tell she'd gotten to McGonagall with that last statement. The Transfiguration Professor's eyes were misty with tears. Ron was still eyeing Angel with suspicion, as was Snape, while Harry didn't seem to know what to think. Ginny was smiling slightly and Dumbledore just looked serene.

Buffy sighed. "I know this is difficult to believe, but it's all true. Including what I told you about me being a Slayer."

Dumbledore looked deeply into her eyes and nodded. Buffy was fairly certain he'd just used legilimency on her. "Very well, I believe we have taken up enough of your time this evening. Professors, shall we?" He swept towards the door with McGonagall following. Snape looked disapproving, but also stood. He knew that once the Headmaster had made a decision he had little chance of swaying him.

"Wait, Professor Snape," Buffy called sweetly. "I was thinking of having Angel here check over the homework you set us on the Scourge of Europe. Could you remind me who sired Spike?" Out of the corner of her eye she could see Angel looking at her, confused.

Snape growled menacingly at her, but Buffy merely smiled harder, undeterred. "How many times must I say it? It was An- it was _him._" He pointed a finger at Angel.

"What? That's ridiculous. I didn't sire Spike. He was far too annoying as a human for me to have wanted to spend more time with him as a vampire. Drusilla was the one that found him and sired him. She seemed to find him interesting," Angel rolled his eyes. "Obviously she's completely insane."

"What?" Snape spluttered.

Angel seemed to realise where Buffy was going with this and was all for it. "That would be my fault of course," he shrugged. "I made her that way."

Snape shook himself with a visible effort. "No, no. Drusilla wasn't insane."

"Mad as a March Hare," Buffy grinned at him.

"I should know. I spent a lot of my time as Angelus trying to drive her crazy," Angel added. "I remember being very proud of the results."

"That's just," Snape was lost for words. With a snarl he strode out the door, missing the amused glance Dumbledore sent his way as he and McGonagall followed the Potions Master out.

"Don't stay up too late," Dumbledore's voice drifted back to them.

Buffy buried her face in Angel's chest, stifling her giggles. She'd never seen Snape so distressed. He hated being proven wrong. To make it even better, he would now be too intimidated to take it out on Buffy, after Angel had hit him earlier, just for insulting her.

Even Ron was grinning, she noticed when she finally looked around at her friends. "I can't believe you did that to Snape. And you decked him."

"Are you guys ok with this," Buffy asked carefully.

"Why wouldn't we be?" Ginny smiled.

"It's a bit weird," Harry said slowly. "I think we'll get used to it though."

"He decked Snape," Ron said, still grinning. "That makes him my hero."

Buffy laughed. "Thanks guys."

"Did you really drive that vampire insane?" Harry asked nervously.

Angel sighed heavily. "She wasn't a vampire when I did that, but yes. I'm not proud of it. I did a lot of awful things as Angelus that I regret now."

"Why don't we leave you to it?" Ginny said suddenly and ushered the boys from the room. Buffy guessed they were going to go somewhere and discuss this for a while.

"Hmm. I thought they'd never leave," Buffy said and turned back to Angel and kissed him soundly.

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A/N: Yay! Angel's here at last. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to review. I really enjoy hearing what you think. I'm still waiting to hear what you want me to do with Sirius, so let me know.

**CallaRose4ever** I haven't made up my mind about Snape actually. I think I'm just gonna see where the character wants to go. Vampires can't use magic. I think I said that in chapter 7, but I only touched on it briefly.

**Allen Pitt** How about He-Who-Must-Be-Annoying. I've been trying to come up with some nicknames for him. Something Spike might say. I've got a bit of a list. If you can think of any really good ones let me know and I might use them.

BlueDove Bringing Sirius back is a bit tricky, but I have figured out a way to do it (hopefully well.) People don't seem that worried though, so unless I get loads of reviews begging me I probably won't be doing it. 

**JessAngelus** Angel's here at last. And he smacked Snape. You have no idea how fun it was to write that scene.

**Vixen519** Yes he really is far too gorgeous. Don't worry about Angel though, 'cos he's here now and he helped Buffy get some vengeance on Snape.

**Chazza** You're my 100th reviewer!!! Thanks a lot.

Thank you to everyone else who reviewed. I really appreciate every single one of them.

Dozy.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15.

Buffy breathed in the cool night air. She always felt her best at times like these when it was just her, alone in the darkness. Maybe it was a Slayer thing. Silently she started to walk down the school drive, her senses alert.

She'd only taken a few steps when she heard the shuffling of feet behind her. She paused, listening, but whoever it was had stopped when she had. Buffy looked around, trying to look nonchalant, shrugged as though deciding she had been mistaken and carried on walking.

Internally she was grinning. When would those boys learn? Being invisible didn't mean you couldn't be heard. Was it that hard to put a silencing charm on the cloak? With her senses heightened like this she could hear every step, every slight stumble, every breath they took.

Buffy walked quickly. Not so much that they would lose sight of her, but fast enough that they weren't right on her heels. When she reached the gated she walked straight through, then ducked behind the wall.

A few seconds later she could hear their hurried footsteps suddenly stop not far from her. With the amount of muttering going on it wasn't hard to pinpoint the exact place they were standing. In two swift paces Buffy was right next to them and pulled off the cloak to reveal the back of Harry and Ron's heads.

With cries of surprise they spun to face a laughing Buffy. "You should see your faces," she giggled,

"How did you do that?" Harry asked, trying to slow his racing heart.

"Slayer, remember?" Buffy prompted. "I'm built for moving silently through the night. You two aren't. I'm also really good at knowing when someone's following me. So what are you boys up to?"

"Nothing," Ron said guiltily

"Mmmhmm. If you'd just asked me where I was going I would have told you," she said playfully. "And I wouldn't have stopped you from coming either."

"But you said…"

"That you couldn't come patrolling with me," Buffy agreed. "But I'm not expecting any vampires tonight. This is a social visit. You remember Giles," the boys both nodded. "Well, he's in town." Buffy pointed towards Hogsmeade and the three began to walk.

"If you're going to Hogsmeade, why didn't you take the tunnel to Honeydukes?" Harry asked.

Buffy stopped short. "You know that never even occurred to me." With a shake of her head, she started moving again. "I prefer to be outside anyway."

About ten minutes later the trio stopped at the address Angel had given Buffy. It was a large, brick house, the garden was filled with flowers and surrounded by a low brick wall.

"Wow," Buffy breathed in awe. "This place is _huge_."

She knocked on the door hesitantly. After a few seconds had passed, Giles pulled the door open.

"Buffy," he said fondly, hugging her tight. "It's good to see you." He gestured for her to enter and then led the three of them to a comfortable sitting room.

Buffy quickly made the introductions and quietly informed her Watcher that her friends knew about her.

Giles gave her a disapproving look. "Really, Buffy. I've never known anyone like you for being completely incapable of keeping a secret."

"It's not my fault," Buffy said defensively. "Spike showed up and demanded to speak to me in private. You know how Spike is, not exactly subtle. I had to tell them what was going on."

"Yes, Willow told me that he was here. How many people know exactly?"

"Um. A lot," Buffy said cautiously.

Giles closed his eyes briefly, as though begging for patience. "There's nothing that can be done about it now. Tell me about your meeting with Spike."

"Nothing much to tell. He wanted to make a deal because he didn't like where Voldemort's plans were heading. He agreed to fight with us in the final battle as long as we allow him and Drusilla to leave freely" Buffy looked at the boys and decided that they would most likely be happy to keep this secret. "He also said he would pass on information to me. We're meeting here in Hogsmeade on the 31st. I need to have some form of safe communication set up by then."

Ron gaped at her. "You didn't tell the Order that!"

"No, I didn't. If I had they would have insisted that Spike report to them and we wouldn't have any idea what was going on," Buffy told him. "They think I need to be protected, but it doesn't work like that. In a way, I protect them."

"I very much doubt that Spike would have gone along with that Buffy," Giles said slowly. "From what Angel has told me he has a deep dislike of wizards. He came to you to make this offer, not them."

"I guess." Buffy snorted with laughter. "Wanna know why Spike doesn't like wizards? He was a squib!"

"He was?" Angel said as he entered the room. "That explains so much."

"Angel," Buffy said, smiling as he leaned down to kiss her.

Harry had a thoughtful look on his face. "How about mirrors?" he said suddenly.

"Huh?" Buffy asked, confused.

"Mirrors," Harry nodded. "Sirius gave me a two-way mirror to talk to him on. You say the name of the person with the other mirror and their face appears in it. Sirius and my dad used to use them to talk to each other from separate detentions."

"That could work," Buffy mused. "I'd need to do some more research to see what charms were used. Could I take a look at it some time?"

"Er, it's a bit broken, but yeah, sure," Harry shrugged.

"Great. With any luck I can reproduce a few of them, then we can send some to Willow and Xander and my mom. That way we can all stay in touch."

"That would be excellent," Giles said approvingly. "It would be useful to have some way of contacting you up in the school, should anything occur that requires your attention."

"It's almost like you're developing our own spy network," Harry said brightly. "Someone here, someone in Voldemort's forces. Maybe you should try and get someone in Diagon Alley too and the Order."

"Not a bad idea. What about the twins? They seem a little disillusioned with the Order," Buffy suggested.

"They might," Ron said hesitantly. "No one in the Order really trusts them though, because they're always mucking about."

"It would be great if we could get someone in the Ministry too," Harry said wistfully.

"I've got that covered already," Buffy said cheerfully. She grinned at Harry's startled look. "I spoke to Tonks. It seems the Aurors know enough about the Slayer to want to help me. She said all I had to do was ask."

"You've been very busy," Angel said quietly.

"Uh huh. Speaking of that, hopefully Giles and I will be making a little trip soon," Buffy said with a sly grin. "Tonks said she might be able to get us into the Department of Mysteries. I want to hear the prophecy Merrick told me about. We're still not really sure what it says. It might be useful."

"Can we go?" Ron asked quickly. He seemed to be enjoying being a part of what was going on as did Harry. They were far too used to being led from the room when discussions like this were taking place.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Buffy said regretfully. "You two are too noticeable. I'd rather get in and out as quickly as possible without anyone knowing we were there. I'll tell you everything after though."

"Ok," Ron agreed, a little disappointed. "At least we know what's going on. The Order doesn't tell us anything."

"I was led to believe that Harry was a main target in this war," Giles frowned. "They should be arming you with the knowledge you need to fight. Are they at least training you?"

"No," Harry muttered angrily. "They just keep saying I'm too young."

"That's utterly ridiculous," Giles said disbelievingly. "No matter how young you may be, by refusing to train you they are just putting you in more danger."

"Giles is right. It seems that the Order doesn't work at all like the Watcher's Council," Angel cut in. "They're used to teaching young girls to fight, they don't have a choice there, but the Order probably wants you all protected."

"It gets worse though," Buffy said quietly. She looked at Harry. "It's your decision if you want to tell them or not. You can trust them both, I promise you that. They might be able to help."

Harry looked into her eyes for a long moment, before nodding. "There's another prophecy that says I'm the only one who can kill Voldemort."

"They know this?" Giles asked infuriated. "Yet they still won't teach you the things you need to be able to fight?" He sighed heavily. "I don't know enough about wand magic to be able to train you myself. I think you're on your own with this, but please let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

Harry looked stunned. This was the first time an adult had really offered to help him deal with this. He seemed to appreciate the fact that he was being treated as an adult himself. "Thank you, sir," he said gratefully.

"Maybe there is something," Buffy intervened. "I read up about occlumency and it seems that the most important part is organising your mind. Giles is really good at that kind of thing and he can help you with meditation too."

"That seems like as good a start as any," Giles conceded. "Before you leave we'll discuss the best time for you to come and learn."

"That's great," Harry said eagerly.

"This house is amazing," Buffy said, trying to lighten the conversation. "Do we get the tour?"

Angel stood up, holding out his hand to help Buffy up. "I think that sounds fun."

They looked around the old house with interest. Buffy was especially pleased that one of the rooms had been set-aside for her to use whenever she wanted. Giles was very excited when he revealed the library, which seemed to contain pretty much all the books from the Sunnydale High School library.

"It was all I could do to smuggle some of these books past Snyder when I quit," he told them. "He tried to tell me that they belonged to the school, but they were all part of my private collection, long before I moved to Sunnydale."

When they reached the last room, Buffy noticed that both Angel and Giles were looking at her eagerly. Angel opened the door wide and waved her in first.

Buffy gasped. The large room was filled with training equipment. Knives and various other weapons were hanging on the walls, there were all sorts of gym equipment spread out and spongy mats covered the floor. "This is for me?" she asked excitedly.

"I think you earned it," Giles said, smiling at her affectionately. "You need a place where you can train undisturbed, somewhere I can observe and assist. You and Angel can spar here sometimes if you wish."

"I can't believe you did this," Buffy hugged Giles, then turned to Angel and gave him a fierce kiss. "This is amazing."

Buffy spent a few moments looking around misty-eyed, while Ron and Harry seemed confused at her reaction to a training room. When Buffy was ready they retreated to the library.

Giles pulled out the letter Buffy had written him and passed it to her. "I got this shortly before I left Sunnydale," he said, getting down to business again. "I assume you were referring to Ethan."

"Yeah." Buffy quickly filled them in on her meeting with Ethan Rayne, telling Harry and Ron about their previous encounters with the dangerous man.

"I don't like the idea of you and Ethan being alone, Giles," Buffy said seriously. "He can be really dangerous and he seemed awfully keen to see you. It has to be a trap, but I don't get what he thinks he can do."

"Are you suggesting we forget the whole thing," Giles asked her.

"No, definitely not. I think the diaries could be really important and I don't want him to have them any longer than necessary."

"Then we'll have to think of a way to get them from him without putting Giles at risk," Angel said, comfortingly.

"You could set up the meeting with him and have Hermione under Harry's cloak," Ron suggested.

"Cloak?" Giles asked, befuddled.

"Harry has an invisibility cloak," Buffy explained. "It's a good idea Ron, but Ethan knows about me and he knows that wizards have ways of remaining unseen. If he doesn't see me he'll want to know where I am, he knows Giles wouldn't go into that kind of meeting without me there."

Angel put his hand up as if he were going to ask a question. "The plan could still work."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A short time later the three teens were trudging back to school. "Thanks, Hermione," Harry said, sounding a little awkward.

"For what?"

"I know more about what's going on after an evening with you and your friends than I have in over five years in the magical world. Even when I was spending the summer in the Order headquarters I didn't feel as involved."

Buffy smiled. "Giles believes in being prepared. He doesn't care that you're only sixteen, he wants you to be ready. Knowledge is power, by keeping you in the dark the Order is making you vulnerable. That's why Giles let me work with my friends back in Sunnydale. He knew that they would be safer learning what they could about vampires and standing by my side, than they would if they just went blundering around without a clue. Neither Xander or Willow are the kind of people that just turn their backs on doing the right thing because it would be safer for them. They're like you two in that way."

"It's still really great. I already feel more a part of this war."

"We're like the Junior Order, only far more secret," Ron laughed. "_They_ don't even know we exist yet."

"I think we can come up with a better name than the Junior Order," Harry said amused.

"We already have a name," Buffy told them firmly. "We're the Scooby Gang."

"Like Scooby Doo?" Harry asked. "I remember Dudley watching that on Saturday mornings. Wasn't it about a cartoon dog?"

"Yeah," Buffy laughed at Ron's bewildered face. "It was about a group of kids and their dog who solved mysteries about monsters and stuff. Xander named us that, because we do kinda the same thing, only without the dog."

"So are we in the Scooda Gang now?" Ron asked excitedly.

"It's Scoo_by _and yes, I think you can be admitted into our highly selective club," Buffy teased. "I wish Xander were here, he would probably come up with some cool initiation thing for you to do."

"How about we just swear in?" Ron asked eagerly. With that he jumped onto a rock and raised his right hand. "I solemnly swear that I will be faithful to the ideals of the Skody Gangand will not betray my fellow members."

Buffy laughed at his mispronunciation. "I hereby accept you into the Scooby Gang and hope that we have many adventures together."

Ron jumped down and Harry took his place. "I solemnly swear that I will do my best to be worthy of the prestigious Scooby Gang and together we will defeat the evil of the world."

"I accept you into the Scooby Gang," Buffy said again, more seriously this time. "I only hope that we can achieve your goals." With a small laugh she reached up to take Harry's hand and he jumped down next to her. "Thus the famous Gryffindor Trio becomes a part of the great Scooby Gang. May we live long and prosper and all that."

The three of them laughed softly. "We've got a lot of work ahead of us," Buffy said suddenly bringing them back to reality. "We've got to figure out exactly how those mirrors work and recreate some for the whole group and Spike. We need to contact Ethan and arrange a meeting before we can finalise our plans. Giles and I have to go to the Department of Mysteries. Ron, you need to talk to your brothers, see if they want to help us and you, Harry, have to learn occlumency."

"Mood killer," Ron muttered.

"What was that Ronald?" Buffy grinned.

"We'd better get under the cloak" Harry warned. "We're nearly back at school."

The three of them huddled together and Harry threw the cloak over them. Buffy performed a silencing spell on the cloak and then there was no evidence to say that they had ever been there.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next week passed in a blur of activity. Harry went to visit Giles every other evening to learn meditation and sometimes Buffy went with him. The boys both had quidditch practise and Ron had his prefect duties to take care of. Harry showed Buffy the mirror Sirius had given him and the three of them- and Ginny once she had been told what was going on- spent much of their time not in class, in the library, trying to work out which charms had been used in its creation.

They celebrated Buffy's birthday quietly. Buffy's thoughts were with her mother and friends in Sunnydale, but she tried to stay upbeat. The day after her birthday she wrote a note to Ethan giving him the meeting place and time. She had wanted to wait until after she was seventeen to meet him so she could use magic if she needed to.

Three days after she sent the message Pig flapped into the Great Hall with a letter tied to his leg. They had used the tiny owl instead of Hedwig because Buffy hoped that Pig's excitable temperament would annoy Ethan. Buffy removed the note and scanned it quickly. With a glance around to make sure no one was listening Buffy leaned over to the two boys and Ginny. "He wants to move it up to tonight in The Hog's Head, in a private room. He says if Giles isn't there then the deals off."

"It was supposed to be on Saturday. Why would he want to change it?" Ron asked, perplexed.

"To throw us off," Harry guessed. "This way we don't have as much time to prepare before the meeting."

Buffy screwed up her eyes in thought. "Ron, you have a free class this morning, I need you to run this note down to Giles. Use Harry's cloak so that you aren't seen. Tell him we'll be there as soon as school's over for the day."

"Right," Ron nodded.

The rest of the day was very tense for Buffy. She was constantly looking at her watch in favour of listening to the teachers. In her mind she kept running over what would be happening that night and hoping their plans would work. She did manage to pull her attention back to where it belonged when a very irate Professor McGonagall deducted points from Gryffindor for her daydreaming.

As soon as the last class was over, Buffy met Harry and Ron in the corridor by a statue of a one-eyed, humpbacked witch. Ginny had wanted to come as well, but she had a detention with Snape. Apparently he had been intimidated into leaving Buffy alone, but he considered her friends fair game.

Harry was studying the Marauder's Map to make sure no one approached them, while Ron tapped the statue's hump with his wand and whispered, "_Dissendium_." The hump opened and the three students crept inside. They had decided to take the tunnel as it was harder to get across the school grounds without being detected in the daylight, even with an invisibility cloak. There were simply too many people milling about out there at this time of day.

By the time they had reached Honeydukes it was beginning to get dark. They used the cloak to sneak out of the shop and onto Hogsmeade's main street and went immediately to Giles' house. Giles let them in and they met up with Angel in the library. He looked like he'd just gotten up.

"Can this still work?" Buffy asked without preamble.

"Yes, I believe so" Giles replied. "You two boys will need to stay here, we don't want Ethan to see you if we can avoid it."

Harry and Ron nodded. They both had developed a lot of respect for Giles and appreciated their inclusion in the planning so much that they weren't going to argue about not being there for the main event. Besides, they would hear everything later anyway.

"Do you have everything?" Angel inquired.

"Yeah" Buffy assured him. "Now we just need to deal with Ethan Rayne."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The barman of The Hog's Head directed Buffy and Giles upstairs. Giles knocked on the door at the top impatiently, while Buffy bounced on her heels behind him. She was trying to prepare herself for anything, praying that whatever Ethan wanted wouldn't hurt her Watcher in any way. She was getting to be quite fond of him.

The door opened and Ethan gestured for them to enter. Buffy hesitated on the threshold as though she were assessing the room for threats and escape routes, before entering slowly and closing the door behind her.

"Ripper, old friend. I'm delighted to see you," Ethan said in mock pleasure.

"The feeling isn't mutual," Giles said, a slight sneer on his lips.

Ethan ignored him. "And Miss Summers. It's lovely to see you too."

Buffy didn't feel like verbal sparring right now. She drew an arm back and smacked him across the face.

Ethan spluttered a bit. "Charming, as ever," he said with a grunt. "Now, I do believe I requested to speak to you alone, Ripper."

"_I do believe_ you're an imbecile if you think that's gonna happen," Buffy retorted.

"I have something you require," Ethan said slyly. "If you want it, you're going to have to play by my rules. You can wait outside."

Buffy bristled. "If you think I'm gonna leave you two alone…"

"Buffy," Giles interrupted her. "Perhaps it would be best if you remained outside the door. I can take care of Ethan."

"But, Giles!" Buffy said, concerned.

"Buffy, please."

"Fine," Buffy pouted and went through the door, slamming it after her. She stomped down a few steps, being sure t make a lot of noise, then stopped. She reached into a pocket and retrieved an Extendable Ear. They had been lucky that Ginny always kept some on her. Cautiously, she flicked it towards the door. It burrowed under the frame as Buffy put the other end in her ear.

"Your girl is quite spirited," Ethan's voice came through loud and clear. "I can see why you like her so much."

"I don't have time for small talk. Give me the diaries and I'll be on my way."

"All in good time, Rupert," Ethan said smarmily. "I didn't want you to come all this way for so brief a visit."

"I don't really give a damn what you want," Giles snapped. "You sent Eyghon after an innocent girl. She had nothing to do with it, but you tattooed his symbol on her to save your own skin." Giles was clearly outraged. "Now give me what I came for before I take a page out of Buffy's book and lay you out."

"Temper, temper," Ethan said patronisingly. "I have them right here."

Buffy could hear the sounds of a trunk opening. She held her breath, worriedly.

"What the Hell is this?" Giles demanded. "What do you think you're doing?" There were sounds of a scuffle.

Buffy didn't need to hear any more. She leapt up the stairs and ripped open the door. She was met with a very pleasant tableau. Angel was holding Ethan the invisibility cloak thrown over a table, while Giles nursed his hand. Ethan was sporting a bloody lip. Buffy decided it was a good look for him.

"It seems I've been set up," Ethan said, almost conversationally, blood trickling down his chin. "Bravo. I'll just be leaving then shall I?"

"What happened?" Buffy asked, ignoring him.

"I think it was a portkey," Angel told her. "In his trouser pocket. Ethan grabbed Giles' arm and was reaching for it." He was holding Ethan's arms particularly tightly so he couldn't reach into his pocket and activate the portkey. Unfortunately they couldn't take it away from him without activating it themselves, unless they made Ethan take his trousers off and that was something Buffy _did not_ want to see.

"How did you get it?" Buffy asked threateningly. "You couldn't have made it yourself."

"Where do you think I got it?"

"Voldemort," Buffy said tersely.

"Well done." That was the good thing about Ethan, Buffy decided. Once you'd caught him he needed absolutely no motivation to be persuaded to spill everything.

"Why would he give _you_ a portkey? You're a muggle."

"True, my dear," Ethan nodded. "However, he's a reasonable man and was willing to listen to my offer."

Buffy withheld her snort. "Voldemort is about as far from reasonable as it is possible to get. What did _you_ have that _he_ wanted? It couldn't be Giles, what interest would Voldemort have in him?"

"Maybe we should just let him tell the whole story," Angel said, still holding onto Ethan's arms.

"Ok," Buffy agreed. "'Fess up and this had better be good."

Ethan smirked at her. "The Dark Lord was rather impressed when I sauntered into his camp. His wards may be impenetrable to the likes of you, but with wicca many things are possible. At first he was going to torture me, but when I told him that I wanted to work for him and made him an offer he couldn't refuse, he decided to let me go."

"So you offered him me?" Giles asked calmly. "I can think of no reason for that. What aren't you telling us?"

"Giles is a muggle too," Buffy said, confused. "It doesn't make sense."

"Perhaps not, but he didn't want Rupert," Ethan said nastily. "I told him that I could get you to him and that you would go willingly."

Angel growled. "What did he want with Buffy?"

"Dear Lord," Giles muttered. "You told him about the spell in the diaries."

Ethan just smiled at them. "He had already heard a lot about Slayers from his vampire allies and was intrigued. I not only offered him a way to capture her, but to control her as well."

Angel spun Ethan around and slammed his back into a wall, one hand wrapped around his neck. "What else did you tell him?"

"Nothing, I swear," Ethan said nervously.

"Why on Earth would you go to this Voldemort?" Giles demanded. "What's in it for you?"

"His promise he wouldn't kill me," Ethan said, trying to pry Angel's hand loose. "He's going to win and anyone who stands in his way will die. I decided not to stand in his way."

Angel tightened his grip. Ethan started to choke. "What else?" he snarled.

"Oh, you know me," Ethan said, desperately. "I live for chaos." He kicked forward suddenly, surprising Angel into letting go. Angel lunged for him, but it was too late. Ethan had reached into his pocket, grabbed his portkey and disappeared, leaving three very angry people looking on.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: Slightly shorter chapter this time, but a fun one. Everything's starting to happen now. Yay! Hope you all enjoyed it, don't forget to review. I love hearing what you think and it really does inspire me to update faster.

**Allen Pitt** Heehee. You-Know-Who, who? That's what I love about Spike, he says what we're all thinking and he's so funny. I don't want to reveal my plans for Kendra and Mr Zabuto, but we'll be hearing more about them soon. I think at this point Willow hasn't started studying wicca (in the actual series) but she will definitely be working her mojo later in this story.

**JessAngelus** I wanted to make the whole Xander/Ron comparison later on. At their first meeting Ron is a little scared of Angel and then sees him deck Snape, who hates far more. Ron is also seeing Lavender at this point, although they're not as all over each other as they were in HBP, 'cos I hated that. By this chapter they're really getting into the whole Scooby thing and there isn't a lot of time for the whole Ron hating Angel thing. It will happen though. That said, yes you can put this story on your site. Glad you're enjoying it so much.

**fadedexistence** It is about the right time for that curse, but Angelus won't be appearing in this story. I like Angel far too much.

**Buffy Fan** No, no Angelus. That's the great thing about writing a fanfic, I can leave out things like that if I want to. At the moment I'm just letting Snape do what he wants. If he really wants to go over to Voldemort, I'll let him. At the moment I think he's a little bit bitter. He just got the DADA job he's wanted for ages and as soon as he does, Buffy comes along and she's basically an expert on the subject and he doesn't want to believe a sixteen (seventeen now) year old girl could do his job better than he can. I think Ginny and Hermione/Buffy must know each other pretty well by now, they share a bedroom every summer. That's why I gave her a bigger part. I know she was hardly in this chapter at all, but I felt that some bonding was needed between the original trio.

Thank you to everyone else that reviewed. I appreciate every one of them.

Dozy.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16.

Buffy followed Giles and Angel into the library. Harry and Ron were sitting at a desk doing homework, but looked up as they entered.

"How did it go?" Harry asked quickly. He seemed to notice the angry look on Angel's face. "What happened? Did something go wrong?"

Buffy put a comforting hand on Angel's shoulder as Giles told the boys what had happened. "It's not your fault he escaped. He provoked you."

"I should learn to control my temper," he said bitterly. "If I had been in control he never would have gotten his hands free. Now he's probably going to go running to Voldemort and tell him exactly how to find you."

"Voldemort won't do anything," Buffy told him gently. "I'm too well protected at Hogwarts. He wants Harry more then me and _he's_ safe there, I will be too."

"Ethan's going to tell him about Giles though and your friends. He may use them to get to you." He looked at her desperately. "I can't lose you."

"He doesn't know Giles is living here now," Buffy reminded him. "And he doesn't know how close I am to my friends. The only time he ever saw us together was that one time in the library and he ran off before he could see much. I doubt he even knows their names. At least you stopped him from kidnapping Giles."

"It would still have been better if I'd…"

"What? Killed him?" Buffy asked quietly. "He would have gotten away eventually, he's as slippery as a toad. It's better that it happened now rather than later, when he might have actually known something he could use to hurt us." Buffy sat on his lap and kissed his temple. "You know, sometimes you and Harry are a lot alike."

"What?" Harry asked, hearing his name.

"I was just noticing how similar you two are," Buffy told him. "You both have a tendency to brood and blame yourselves for things that couldn't be helped. Now why don't we forget about Ethan and concentrate on the good things that came out of that meeting."

"Like what? Did you get the diaries?" Ron asked eagerly.

"When Ethan left, the trunk he had stored them in remained there," Giles said. "Knowing him as well as I do, I expect he made copies already, just in case something like this happened." He sighed. "I only wish he'd stayed long enough for me to pummel him. Better yet, Buffy could have done it for me. Buffy, if you could."

"He's not here for me to pummel," she said with a small frown.

"I was referring to the trunk of books you have in your pocket," Giles told her gently.

"Oh," she reached into a pocket and placed the tiny trunk on a desk. "_Engorgio,_" she said, pointing her wand at it. After Ethan had left they had searched the small room and found little of interest. It was only when they had opened the trunk that they had found the journals they had been after. Giles hadn't had a chance to look in there properly at the time. As he opened it Ethan had grabbed him and attempted to portkey him away before Angel had stopped him.

Giles eagerly opened it. It was full of books, most of them leather-bound. He picked one up and flicked through it. "Yes, I suspected as much," he said. He looked around at his guests. "This book is written in Old English. It will take me some time to translate it. I expect these others are the same, or perhaps even written in other languages. Although most Watchers are British that has not always been the case." He continued to scan the book. "This may take some time. I'll let you all know as soon as I find anything." He became completely engrossed, forgetting they were even there.

Buffy watched him for a few moments, amused. Finally she shook her head. "We should get back to school," she said regretfully. "We still need to work out how to get those mirrors working. We only have a week left until my meeting with Spike."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

That Saturday was the Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff quidditch match. Buffy denied it when asked, but she had missed watching the matches. She would pretend studying was far more interesting. It did seem like the more Hermione thing to do after all.

She settled into her seat in the stands while she waited for the game to start. She had a reference book on her lap, hoping to figure out the last charm she needed for the mirrors. Currently she was alone, everyone else was at breakfast still, but all her closest friends were playing today, so she'd wanted to walk down with them for moral support. She felt someone sit down further along the bench, but ignored whoever it was until she realised they were staring at her pretty intently.

The figure shifted closer to her. "Hello."

Buffy finally looked up. "Oh God, Malfoy. What do you want now?"

Malfoy looked slightly hurt. "I thought you looked lonely. Weasel and Potty have abandoned you, it seemed like a good time to talk to you."

"Lucky me," Buffy said sarcastically.

"You knew that man that walked into the Great Hall at dinner a couple of weeks ago, didn't you?" Malfoy asked tentatively.

Buffy sighed. As interesting as this softer, more hesitant side of Malfoy was, she didn't want to be the one that had to deal with it. "Yes," she said shortly.

"Is that Angel? Your boyfriend?"

"How did you know…?" Buffy began before remembering that Malfoy had been listening to her and Ginny talking in the library. "Yes, he's my very jealous and overprotective boyfriend. You should leave before he beats you just for talking to me."

"I'm not scared of him," Draco scoffed, but before he could continue the sound of voices drifted up the stairwell. Malfoy paled and looked anxiously towards the noise.

Buffy decided to take pity on him. "Leave now and I won't tell them what you were really here for," she said scathingly. "I'll let them think you were just being your normal arrogant self, calling me mudblood and mocking my friends."

Malfoy shot her a grateful look and left. Buffy sighed in relief. Weirdness seemed to run in the Malfoy genes if Spike and Draco were anything to go by. She could hear him talking briefly to the people coming up and then the voices continued upwards.

Moments later the Weasley twins burst onto the stands. "Greetings dear lady," Fred said, taking her hand and kissing it.

"Charmed my dear," George said with a low bow. "You wouldn't happen to know why that little twerp was up here would you? He said he was insulting you. We can hurt him," he offered.

Buffy grinned at them and shook her head. "Not that I'm not delighted to see you both," she said suspiciously, "but what exactly are you doing here?"

"Ron told us about your Scooby Gang," Fred said with a wink, throwing a silencing charm at the door.

"He thought we might be interested in joining," George added.

"Apparently there are such benefits as actually being trusted by our fellow members and being told what's going on," Fred shrugged.

"For the low, low price of passing along some information to our good friends and siblings," George said. Buffy got the distinct impression they were treating this like some kind of sales pitch, as if they were auditioning to get in.

"So are you thinking about signing up?" Buffy asked, a little thrown by the twins as always.

"Hermione, dearest," said Fred.

"Dearest Hermione," George corrected.

"We would simply love to," Fred clapped his hands enthusiastically.

"It would be an honour," George agreed.

Buffy laughed. "Do you two practise your conversations?" There had been a time when she would have frowned at their antics, she reflected, but Hermione Granger had lightened up a lot since she had become Buffy Summers.

"Funny you should ask that," George said with a wide grin. "We have been rehearsing our meeting with this beautiful young witch, who happens to be some kind of superhero. You wouldn't know her would you?"

"I think I might know who you mean," Buffy replied. "But why would you go to all that trouble for her?"

"Well, you see, we've seen what she does to people she doesn't like and we don't want to end up like them," Fred told her. Buffy's brow furrowed. When had they seen anything like that?

"It all happened one fine morning just one week ago, when my favourite brother dropped a box of dung-bombs down the stairs at headquarters," George said reminiscently.

"Mum, of course, was most vexed with me and _my _favourite brother and proceeded to rant at us for almost half an hour, by which time she had almost forgotten why she started screaming in the first place," Fred continued.

"This isn't an unusual occurrence by itself," George said hastily. "Mum shouting at us is actually fairly routine."

"We're quite bored of it," Fred added. "Which is why we spent the time wondering why mum was the only one screaming."

"That got us to thinking and I'll admit that _is_ an unusual thing," George admitted. "And we came to the conclusion that Sirius' dear old mum hasn't had much to say in quite some time."

Buffy felt like she was watching a tennis match. Her eyes were getting wider by the moment as she watched their routine and her head was swivelling back and forth.

"Now, being the curious young miscreants that we are, we decided to investigate," Fred said with an innocent smile. "As anyone would in those circumstances."

"We blew up the umbrella stand right in front of the portrait," George threw in casually. "Exactly what anyone else would have done had they been in our position."

"Once again there was only silence from our favourite, evil old hag, while mum yelled herself hoarse," Fred said.

"Anyone would think we'd done something dreadful," George said, shaking his head sadly.

"We tried to explain that it was an experiment, but she wouldn't listen," Fred commiserated with his twin.

"She was especially angry that there were lumps of gloopy paint everywhere, she thought we'd used a bad paint-bomb," George said with a shrug.

Buffy winced. That part would be her fault.

"As soon as we got her to leave us alone we decided the time had come for drastic measures," Fred said, with mock seriousness.

"So with all the Gryffindor courage we could muster, we pulled open the curtains," George exclaimed. "Only to find…"

"…An empty piece of canvas," Fred finished.

George shook his head in confusion. "So we asked ourselves, where could all the paint have gone?"

Fred put a hand on his brothers' shoulder. "And we answered ourselves, in the umbrella stand of course and now it's all over the walls in the hallway."

"Upon closer inspection we discovered the most curious thing," George said with raised eyebrows.

"The canvas had been stabbed with a very sharp knife," Fred frowned.

"We wondered who could possibly have done this, who was smart enough, brave enough and might I add gorgeous enough to pull something like this off?" George leered.

"Who also had something to hide, is apparently a magnificent warrior and was in the house over Christmas," Fred suggested. "We could think of only one person who it could be."

"So the time has come, most wonderful friend of ours, practically a sister, to ask you a very serious question," George said, taking Buffy's hand.

"Sweet Hermione," Fred said taking her other hand.

"_Darling_ Hermione," George countered.

"Please don't hurt us," they begged simultaneously, both dropping down to their knees in front of Buffy, still holding her hands tightly clasped in theirs.

Buffy couldn't stop laughing. She knew better than to think they were being sincere in their apparent fear of her and their behaviour made her feel like they had accepted her.

"I'll think about it," she said, holding back her bubbling laughter.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

That evening saw Buffy pulling her three best friends into the Room of Requirement. At the moment it was a small sitting room, filled with comfy armchairs and a small coffee table. "I think I've got it," she said happily. "We just need to test them." She took four compact mirrors from her bag and placed them on the table. "Take a mirror each and go, I don't know, somewhere private. You should hear my voice saying your name. To accept the call just flip open the mirror. If this works you'll see my face and I'll see yours and we should be able to talk." Buffy looked around at their wide-eyed faces. "Today people," she said briskly.

Harry, Ron and Ginny each grabbed a mirror and left. Knowing she would need to give them a few minutes to get somewhere quiet, she sat down in one of the armchairs to wait. When she thought they would be ready she picked up a blue compact mirror and said clearly, "Ginny Weasley."

It only took about a second for Ginny's face to appear in the mirror. "It works, it really works," she exulted.

"Uh huh," Buffy agreed with a happy grin. "Where are you?"

Ginny pulled a face. "Moaning Myrtle's bathroom," she said.

"Is Myrtle there?"

"You'd rather speak to Myrtle than me," Ginny pouted, trying to sound hurt.

"Please don't let her hear you talking like that," Buffy said worriedly. "She'd probably think you're serious and want to be my best friend."

"She's not here," Ginny said, laughing. "Wow, this is really great."

"It is isn't it?" Buffy smiled. "Now you get to call Harry and I'll call Ron. Feel free to flirt with him a little."

Ginny blushed prettily. "I couldn't do that. He'd know I fancy him."

"Gin, that boy could have you throwing yourself at his feet and still not get it," she said, rolling her eyes. "I've never met anyone more clueless, it's one of his more endearing qualities."

"You think Harry's clueless?" Ginny smirked. "What about you. Ron's completely smitten by you and you have yet to notice."

"No, he's not," Buffy denied. "He's with Lavender."

"Because it's convenient. He'd rather be with you. He's barely even spoken to her since you got back, they'll probably break up soon," Ginny said wisely. "Besides, have you seen the way he looks at Angel?"

"No."

"Next time everyone's together keep an eye on him," Ginny advised. "I think he tries to hide it from you, so don't be obvious."

"I can't believe I didn't notice that," Buffy said worriedly. "Are you sure?"

"He thought you'd come back and the two of you would get together," Ginny told her. "Actually, I think a lot of us did. I always thought you fancied him."

"Honestly?" Ginny's image nodded. "I did. I was so disappointed when he didn't ask me to the Yule Ball in fourth year until the last minute. Then Viktor asked me and I was so excited about actually having _someone_ to go with that I accepted. We even managed to have a great time, if not for Ron making a huge fuss over the whole thing. I thought then that maybe he fancied me. Then I became the Slayer and it was too dangerous for him to be with me and it's not like I really had the time anyway. While I was in Sunnydale I started to forget how I used to feel about him. I just remembered that he was my best friend, the same as Harry. And now I have Angel and I couldn't be happier. I didn't plan to fall in love with him, it just happened."

Ginny gasped. "You're in love with him?"

Buffy could feel her cheeks turning pink. "Yeah, I am." She bit her lip. "What am I gonna do about Ron though?"

"Nothing," Ginny replied. "There's nothing you can do. He'll move on eventually."

"Like you moved on from Harry?"

It was Ginny's turn to blush now. "The boys will be wondering what's taking so long. Do you want me to call Ron instead?"

"Yeah, thanks Ginny," Buffy said distractedly. "I'll see you later." She closed the top on the mirror and sighed pensively. Why did this always happen to her. First Xander and now Ron. Opening the mirror once more she said softly, "Harry Potter."

Harry's face appeared in the mirror this time. "Hi Hermione," he said happily.

"Hey," said Buffy, forcing a grin on her face. "This is great isn't it?"

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "Will they work anywhere?"

"Should do," Buffy replied. "We'll have to wait until I can get back to Sunnydale to really test the range on them though."

"Do they do anything else?" Harry asked with interest.

"Not at the moment, but if you can think of stuff to add, go ahead," Buffy encouraged him. "They all have _impervious_ charms on them and I've enchanted them to be unbreakable."

"Cool," Harry said brightly.

"I'm gonna run down to Giles' place later and give one each to him and Angel. I'm meeting Spike the day after tomorrow and I'm hoping to get some to the twins and Tonks as soon as possible. I think I'll need Tonks' help to get some to mom, Xander and Willow."

"Does Tonks even know she's part of our little conspiracy?" Harry asked slyly.

"I haven't told her yet," Buffy shrugged. "I think she'll be happy enough to join. She said she'd do anything I asked and it's not like we need her to go against Dumbledore, or the Minister. We just need her to let us know what's going on."

"Cool. I…" Harry paused, listening.

"Harry? What is it?"

"Someone's coming," he whispered. "I'll talk to you later." The connection was abruptly cut off. Buffy sighed and closed her own mirror.

At least they worked now and Buffy could give one to Spike in just a couple of days. She was also hoping to make a quick visit to Sunnydale in the near future. No matter what she said to Angel, she was still concerned that Ethan might go after her friends. She'd feel much better if they had a way to contact her quickly and something as innocuous as these mirrors could be overlooked if they were captured. That was just another thing to ask Tonks about.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Buffy walked into the library of Sunnydale High School, her heels clacking on the wooden floor. She looked around curiously. Why was she here?_

_Kendra stepped in front of her holding a sword. "Finally," she said, in heavily accented English. "I thought you'd never come."_

"_I came when you called. What do you need?"_

"_A dark power is rising, Buffy," Kendra told her. "It will consume everything, until nothing is left."_

"_The Hellmouth?" Buffy asked, concerned. "Is it going to open?"_

"_No. Something closer to you," Kendra looked worried. "I'm surprised you haven't sensed it yourself. Perhaps you're too close."_

"_What is it, Kendra?"_

"_I do not know. I just feel that I am going to lose myself to it. I need your help," Kendra admitted. "I don't know what to do."_

"_Is it Voldemort?" Buffy wondered out loud._

"_I do not know the name of this evil. I have seen its eyes, though and they were red."_

_Buffy hissed. "It _is_ him. It has to be."_

"_What does he want?" the other girl asked._

"_Our souls," Buffy said simply. "He wants to destroy everything that we are."_

"You believe so strongly in souls," Kendra frowned. "You should know that there is no such thing. Your Watcher also seemed to think your boyfriend had one, but that is impossible. He is a vampire and should be killed. It is our duty."

"_I won't let you hurt him. Angel _does_ have a soul," Buffy assured her. "It shows in everything he does. We all have souls, except for people like Voldemort who are empty inside."_

"_I want to believe you."_

"_So believe me," Buffy said. _

"_My Watcher tells me there is no such thing. That people are just animals."_

"_Then what are we fighting for?" Buffy asked her._

_Kendra looked at her with such hope in her eyes and Buffy held out a hand to the other girl. "Do you believe me?"_

"_I believe you, sister," Kendra said, taking the offered hand in her own._

"_Sister?" Buffy asked, startled._

"_Are we not?" Kendra smiled. "We two are the only ones who know what the darkness is truly like. We are kindred. No one else will ever know, ever understand us. How can we not be sisters?" _

_Buffy smiled in return. "How indeed?" _

Back in her dormitory in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Buffy's eyes fluttered open. She sat up slowly, her mind going back to what she had just dreamt. Was it possible that had been real? Could two people actually share a dream? No matter what it was, she had a feeling it was time to check up on what was happening in Sunnydale. It wasn't just her own friends that were in danger, but her sister as well.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two nights after the dream, Buffy was roaming Hogsmeade. She hadn't set a definitive time and place to meet Spike. She knew he would be able to track her so eventually she settled down in a spot near The Three Broomsticks, hoping he wouldn't be too long.

She'd been waiting about an hour when he finally showed. "Slayer," he said casually, looking her up and down.

"Spike," Buffy countered from her position, leaning against a wall. It suddenly occurred to her that they were at the entrance to the very same alley where she had spoken to Ethan over a month before. "Do you have anything?"

Spike grunted. "Not really. The vampires might be his allies, but he doesn't really tell us anything."

"Why don't you start with how you got to be his ally in the first place?"

"Well that was simple," Spike sniffed. "He sent me another emissary, only this time I let him return to his Master instead of letting Dru eat him. He-Who-Must-Be-An-Annoying-Git was absolutely delighted to have the big bad on his side. The great ponce."

Buffy concealed her amusement at his nickname for Voldemort. She'd have to remember that one. "So now you're his bestest friend. Great. Anything else significant."

Spike shrugged one muscled shoulder. "Not really. I think something big is going to happen in a few days, but I couldn't really tell you what."

"How about Ethan Rayne. Heard anything about him?" Buffy asked impatiently. What was the point of having a spy in Voldemort's midst if he wasn't going to tell her anything useful?

"Name means nothing, ducks. Who is he?"

Buffy rolled her eyes at the pet name. "A pain in my butt. He's a muggle, but he's working with Voldemort. He would've portkeyed your way about a week ago."

Spike frowned. "Dark haired chap, bit full of himself?"

Buffy thought it was a bit rich of Spike to be calling anyone full of themselves, but merely nodded.

"Yeah, he dropped in on his Exaltedness in the middle of a meeting," Spike recalled. "The old man was a bit put out, tortured him for a bit. Gotta say the man has no imagination at all when it comes to torture. He just used the same curse over and over. Almost suggested he get out a chainsaw and do the thing properly."

Reminding herself to tell Giles that later, Buffy said, "is he still alive?"

"Last time I checked he was," Spike nodded. "Didn't look pretty though. I think he has something to do with the mission in a few days, but I can't be sure."

Buffy sighed. "Is that it?"

"Reckon so."

"Well it's something at least," she murmured dispiritedly, before pulling a mirror out of her pocket and telling Spike how to use it. This mirror was only connected with hers, Giles' and Angel's. She didn't really want him to have a way to contact any of her other friends if she could help it.

Spike left not long after, with a vague promise to contact her soon. Buffy wondered once more if she were an idiot to trust him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So let me get this straight," Tonks said slowly. "You want me to join your little group and pass on information about the Ministry and the Order to you through this little mirror. You also want me to keep this a secret from just about everyone."

"I'm not asking you to tell us anything that can put someone's life at risk," Buffy assured her. "We need to know what's happening in the world if we're going to fight it."

"And why exactly do you kids think you need to fight anything?" Tonks asked.

"I told you I'm the Slayer right? That means I have to fight. I _have_ to be a part of this, but Dumbledore and the Order won't accept that."

"What about Harry and Ron though? They're not Slayers," Tonks pointed out.

"No, they couldn't be," Buffy agreed. "Being boys and all. But Harry has his own part to play in this war and he can't do what he needs to do if he's being protected in Dumbledore's gilded cage. He needs to learn to fight and he needs to be prepared. The best way for that to happen is for him to know everything he can about what's going on."

"What do you think Harry's going to be able to do that Dumbledore can't?" Tonks demanded. "He's just a munchkin. He's best off out of the way."

Buffy sighed. Event though she had obtained Harry's permission before having this meeting, she had hoped that she could keep this out of it. "The prophecy that you were all protecting last year was about Harry and Voldemort. It says that one of them has to kill the other." Buffy ignored Tonks' shocked look. "Dumbledore knows it too, which is why he is being utterly stupid by trying to keep Harry all innocent and protected like he does. I admit he has good intentions, but those intentions are just going to get Harry killed."

Tonks' eyes were wide. "You mean poor little Harry has to kill You-Know-Who all on his own? Poor kid."

Buffy watched the young Auror in silence, letting her work her own way through this. After a few minutes Tonks looked up at her gravely. "I'm in. Whatever I can do to help, I'll do it. I already promised you that, I think, but this time it's not just out of duty. I want to help."

"That's great," Buffy enthused. "Now I want to make a day trip to Sunnydale. You know, the place where you found me. I need to speak to some people there kinda urgently. Can you do it?"

"Easily," Tonks grinned. "I just need to make a portkey and off we go."

"We?"

"Of course. I'm going with you. You may be a warrior, but I can't really let you go running off on your own now can I?"

"What happened to doing what I say or getting out of my way?" Buffy asked, recalling what Tonks had told her a few months before at Grimmauld Place.

Tonks flushed slightly. "You're right. If you really don't want me there I'll stay behind."

Buffy took pity on her. "You can come Tonks."

"Really?" the girl with currently green hair bounced in her seat. "Thanks, Hermione."

"You are _so_ excitable," Buffy grinned. "You'll get on great with Willow."

"When do you want to go?"

"No time like the present," Buffy said eagerly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: For some reason this chapter didn't go at all as planned. Oh well. At least I got to have Fred and George in it. They rock. They're also surprisingly easy to write for.

Hope you enjoyed the latest chapter. Don't forget to review and let me know what you think.

**Allen Pitt** I though Kendra was probably really lonely. About all the human contact she had was her Watcher. Poor girl. They even brain washed her into thinking that it was the best way. We'll be looking more at the old Scoobies in the next chapter, especially Willow. Whistler, hmmm. Interesting.

**JessAngelus** You're welcome. Yes it is H/G but it's not crucial to the story. I didn't really have many other options. I couldn't very well put Buffy with Harry now could I? What would Angel have done? I haven't killed Ethan yet, but I had him tortured for a while, how's that?

**CallaRose4ever** Don't worry. Ethan may have given the spell to Voldy, but he left the diaries behind. They may find something useful.

**ian-vaughn** I think that maybe with x-over's the author is thinking too much of the reveal, when everyone finds out, they kinda lose focus afterwards. That's why I kept the scene where everyone found out about Buffy low-key. (But did you notice they still don't know everything?) You'll hear more about Xander and Willow next chapter when Buffy goes to see them. Don't worry, Willow is gonna be a kick-ass wicca.

**spk** Thanks. I had trouble with that. It had to be intense, they're in love after all, but I couldn't see either one being really exhibitionalist about it and snogging in front of everyone. I'm glad you think I managed it. I enjoyed Angel knocking Snape about too, it was great fun.

**Buffy Fan** Ethan's really out to save his own neck. He believes that Voldemort will win and as he wants to survive the war he sided with the bad guy. He may not really want Giles dead, but we've already seen that he'll sacrifice anyone to save himself. I kind of miss the Hermione character, just as Hermione. Sometimes I want to explain something and could have her say it, but it seems out of character for Buffy to know so I have to find someone else to tell them what's happening. Yes, this is H/G. Voldemort already knows about Buffy by now, including the fact that she's at Hogwarts so Snape can't really hurt her and as he completely underestimates her and doesn't believe in the Slayer he can't do all that much damage, but he may still be evil. Who knows? I'm hoping this will be finished by the time book 7 comes out. If it's not then I'll see what I want to use. This story is AU as of the meeting in the Hogs Head in OotP. The rest of the events in that book happened slightly differently and now the events of HBP are happening in the background of this fic, but I'm not gonna include everything.

Thanks also to **Angel17, Aria DeLoncray, avidgokufan, lightdemondarkangel, firewolfe, enchantedlight, iamkagomeiloveinuyasha** and** Silent Me.**

Dozy.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17.

They arrived near the gates of Weatherby Park, in the exact spot where Buffy had met the Order just a couple of months before. Buffy was happy that she landed steadily on her feet, instead of tripping up as Tonks did. It seemed her Slayer abilities did allow her to land more easily. Either that, or it had been an incredibly smooth landing, but Tonks had fumbled it as only she could.

"Oh no," Tonks said, looking at the terrified muggle couple sitting in front of them. She reached for her wand while Buffy tried to work out where she knew them from. They were both in their late teens and most likely went to Sunnydale High.

"_Obliviate,"_ Tonks said, with a wave of her wand. The muggles' faces went blank for a second, before their expressions cleared and they looked at Buffy and Tonks, not in fear or surprise anymore, but annoyed at their interruption.

"Summers?" the girl glared. "Go away. We're busy."

Buffy frowned, but didn't reply. "Come on Tonks," she said with a flick of her head towards the gates.

As they walked away Buffy heard the girl say to her boyfriend, "that girl is so weird. Did I tell you about what she did in the one and only cheerleader practise she ever came to? I swear she's crazy."

Buffy suddenly realised who she was. The girl had graduated last year and had been Captain of the Cheerleading Squad. Given the disaster that had been, Buffy wasn't surprised the girl- Buffy couldn't remember her name and didn't care much anyway- thought she was a bit strange as nearly all of the Sunnydale High students found her to be a bit odd.

Beside her Tonks was muttering something under her breath and looking a little angry with herself. "I should have had us land in the trees," she burst out. "I forgot it would be daylight here, I was expecting it to be evening, like at home."

"It is eight hours earlier here," Buffy reminded her.

"Couldn't have told me that before we left?" Tonks grumbled irritably. "Where are we going anyway?"

"The High School first," Buffy told her. "I need to speak to Kendra, she's the other Slayer. It's kinda urgent. I'll go speak to mom after I see Xander and Willow. I have mirrors and stuff for them."

By this time they were almost at the school and started running into people she knew. The students were standing around, loitering and just generally hanging out. Some of them waved in greeting when they saw her, but most ignored her or stared at her as though waiting for her to do something strange. Buffy led Tonks directly to the library keeping an eye out for her friends, but she didn't see them anywhere. She pushed open the double doors, calling for Kendra.

"She's not here," a tired sounding voice spoke from the office. "What do you want?"

"Mr Zabuto?" Buffy said, poking her head round the doorframe.

"Yes," he said cautiously. He was a fairly short man, barely taller than Buffy herself, with grey hair and he wore glasses that hid pale blue eyes.

"I'm Buffy Summers," she introduced herself, trying to be as friendly as possible.

"Ah." His eyes widened slightly, then moved to Tonks.

"This is Tonks, she's a friend of mine," Buffy said quickly. "Tonks, this is Mr Zabuto. I guess he took over as librarian after Giles left. He's also a Watcher."

Tonks nodded, but kept her mouth shut. Mr Zabuto on the other hand, looked suddenly furious. "Miss Summers, may I speak to you in private?" He gazed pointedly at Tonks, who simply shrugged and headed for the door.

"I'll be right outside," she called over her shoulder.

"What was that about?" Buffy asked Zabuto, feeling slightly miffed at his dismissal of her friend.

"I see your time away has taught you nothing about keeping secrets," he said angrily. "You have a sacred duty. It is a wonderful, blessed thing, but you should not be telling every person you meet. When Mr Giles informed me that a number of civilians were aware of your true identity I was shocked and dismayed."

"You're not my Watcher," Buffy said, slightly miffed. "Don't act like you are. You have no right to talk to me like that."

"No respect at all for your duties and responsibilities," he continued as though she had not spoken. His eyes were flashing dangerously, but Buffy failed to be intimidated. With a sigh she hopped up onto the counter. Let him rant at her for a while. Then maybe she could find out where Kendra was. It was a tactic she had used before, when talking to the Principal of Hemery who had tried to impress upon her how wrong it is to burn down school buildings.

"Mr Giles has been too lax with you," Zabuto stated as he began to pace. Buffy rolled her eyes. Giles, lax? That would be the day. "He gave you far too much leeway and not enough discipline. If I had been your Watcher I would have had you out of school right off. A Slayer should not have friends, she should not be socialising in clubs or trying to be a _cheerleader _and she most certainly should not be permitted to live with her mother. You _should_ have been raised by a Watcher. It is unfortunate that your potential was not found until you had already been Called and by then I suppose the damage had already been done. It is no wonder you died, Miss Summers. Miss Summers, are you listening to me?"

"No. Can't say that I am," Buffy shrugged. "Need I remind you, Mr Zabuto, that you are not and never will be my Watcher. Therefore, any opinions you have about my lifestyle are totally irrelevant and you're wasting my time with them."

"Well, I…"

"I really don't care," Buffy interrupted. "Personally, I think that your way of training Slayers is almost Nazi-like and I do _not_ approve. Kendra and I may have been Called upon to save the world, but we are still human beings. We have rights too. We don't exist purely to kill vampires."

"That is where you are wrong," Zabuto said with a righteous air. "You are Slayers. That makes you weapons. Nothing more and nothing less and as Watchers it is our duty to make you the best weapon you can be to further our cause, not to coddle you and allow you to have _friends_."

Buffy stared at him in disbelief. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "That is the most sick and sadistic thing I have ever heard," she said when she finally found her voice.

"The truth is a painful thing, is it not?"

"That's not the truth!" Buffy calmed herself down with a visible effort. "I need to speak to Kendra. Where is she?"

"She is getting a few hours of rest before her patrol. As the Slayer she is needed more in the hours of darkness and so has attempted to become nocturnal as far as possible. She as no school to distract her and no need of a job. If a threat were to arise during the day she would manage to deal with it, I assure you."

Buffy frowned, but let it go. "Will she check in with you at any time or am I gonna need to wander the cemeteries looking for her?"

"She usually comes to give me a report after her first sweep," Zabuto informed her.

"I'll come back after nightfall then and hope I catch her. Let her know I'm looking for her." Buffy didn't wait for an answer. She stalked out, almost knocking over Tonks, who was trying to discreetly peek through the doors.

"That, that man…" she fumed.

"Miss Summers," a snarky voice called out to her. "And I thought I would never have to see you again. You always have to disappoint me don't you."

"Snyder," Buffy said between clenched teeth. She ad just finished talking to that excuse for a decent human being and now she had to deal with Snyder, whose hatred of children and her in particular was almost legendary.

"It seems your manners haven't improved in your time away. Tell me, how are you enjoying being home-schooled?"

"It's swell," Buffy answered shortly.

"That's good," Snyder sneered. "As you will never be accepted back into this school."

"What a shame," Buffy couldn't keep the sarcasm from her voice.

"And who is this," he said, pointedly looking at Tonks. "Another juvenile delinquent no doubt."

"I'm, er…" Tonks said, desperately trying to think of something.

"My tutor," Buffy said quickly.

"Exactly what are you doing on school property when you are no longer a student at this school?" he asked snappishly.

"That would be my fault," Ms Calendar said politely as she stepped next to the group. "I asked Buffy here to assist me in a little project I'm doing. She agreed to help out as it will aid her in her own studies. Her tutor is helping us too."

Snyder growled. "Did it not occur to you to ask me first?"

Ms Calendar shrugged nonchalantly. "Not really."

"Do not forget, Missy, that this is _my _school and if you want to remain here as a teacher you will ask _my_ permission before you bring troublemakers like Miss Summers onto _my_ campus."

"I'll bear that in mind," Ms Calendar said dryly. "Please excuse us Principal Snyder. We have a lot of work to do."

Snyder huffed a bit, but let them leave. When they were out of earshot Buffy turned to Ms Calendar. "Thanks," she said gratefully. "That evil little troll is always breathing down my neck."

"No problem," Ms Calendar dismissed it. "Why don't you come into my classroom for a bit? That way if the troll is watching us he can't say I was lying and it'll give us a chance to catch up."

Buffy agreed and she and Tonks followed Ms Calendar into the classroom where Tonks was absolutely amazed by the computers and promptly started poking them with her wand. "How does it work?" she asked with interest. Ms Calendar was amused until a particularly viscous jab with her wand caused Tonks to blow up a monitor in a plume of smoke. Tonks quickly used the _Reparo_ charm, but as she had no understanding of how it all worked it only fixed the glass and plastic casing and not the electronics inside. They soon had to concede defeat on that one. Ms Calendar assured them that Snyder would never know, as he didn't even remember the classroom existed unless he wanted to berate her about something.

The two young women left about an hour later, with many messages to pass on to Giles when they went home. They immediately went in search of Xander and Willow and found them in the Quad, talking quietly.

Xander was facing in their direction and happened to glance up over Willow's shoulder and stared at them blankly for a long moment. Buffy saw him mouth something along the lines of "Holy Moly," which convinced Willow to turn around. Barely a second later Buffy was hugging a laughing redhead, while Xander stood behind her and grinned. He too, leaned down to hug her.

Willow was now staring at Tonks curiously so Buffy figured it was time to make the introductions. "Tonks, these are my friends Willow and Xander. Guys, I'd like you to meet Tonks." Looking between her muggle friends and the young witch she realised they would each be trying to protect various secrets unless she said something. "I'm gonna save you all from a lot of awkwardness right now and tell you that everyone knows everything."

Willow smiled shyly and Xander gave Tonks a look over, seeming to approve. Tonks herself, was grinning at the attention. "Wotcher," she said with a wave.

"Oh, you are?" Willow asked breathlessly. "I thought they were all way old and kinda stuffy." She eyed Tonks' pink hair. "You don't seem stuffy at all. You're not that old either. Do you drink tea?"

Tonks raised an eyebrow at the girls babbling. "I've been known to."

"I think it's cool," Xander added.

"Not really. Lots of people drink tea," Tonks said, thoroughly confused.

"What about Giles though? Did they fire him?" Willow opened her mouth to ask more quick fire questions, but Buffy cut her off.

"Giles hasn't been fired, Will," she assured them. "Don't worry. Wotcher is a greeting too, that's what Tonks meant. Not what you thought." Even though these people knew everything, the students milling around them didn't and Buffy had no intention of discussing certain subjects here.

"So you're not a Watcher?" Willow asked relieved.

Tonks just shook her head.

"Hey, maybe we should take this discussion somewhere more private if we're going to talk about this sort of thing," Buffy cut in.

"You're right," Willow agreed. "Let's go find an empty classroom, or something."

"I miss just holing up in the library," Buffy said sadly. "It's just not the same there without Giles."

"We miss him too," Willow murmured.

"He said he was heading your way," Xander said quietly.

"Yeah, he and Angel arrived early January. I can't tell you how great it is to have them there."

"What about your old friends?" Willow asked. "I bet you're glad you have them back."

"You know I really didn't realise just how much I missed them until they appeared here in Sunnydale," Buffy said as they re-entered Ms Calendar's classroom. She was no longer here, so they had the place to themselves. Buffy had to restrain Tonks when she began eyeing the computers again. "It's even better now that they know about me."

"They know?" Xande sounded a little hurt. "I feel less special now."

"You're still special, Xan, no need to worry about _that_." Buffy smirked at him. "I had to tell them. I'm sure Willow told you I called her after Spike showed up in London. A lot of people heard him call me Slayer and even though they didn't know what that meant, they still wondered what a famous vampire wanted with a girl like me."

The tall young man thought that over. "Not that I'm not glad to see you," Xander began thoughtfully, "but why are you here? And why is Tonks with you?"

"I needed Tonks to get over here. Remember when I told you about portkeys? She made me one, but she wanted to come with," Buffy told them.

"Oh, you're a witch too," Willow exclaimed.

"A witch and a metamorphmagus," Tonks grinned and her hair promptly grew a few inches and turned the exact same red as Willow's.

"That is so cool," Willow gasped. "I've been trying glamour charms, but I can't do anything like that. Oh, I'm practising wiccan magic," she explained quickly on seeing Buffy's look.

Buffy frowned. "That's really dangerous, Will. I hope you're being careful."

"I am," Willow said quickly. "I just wanted to be able to do some of what you can do. I know you said it's different kinds of magic, but I don't wanna be left behind."

Buffy hugged her friend. "You never will be. Promise me you won't do anything you're not ready for. Take it slow. For me."

"I will," Willow hugged her back.

"As for what I'm doing here, well I wanted to give you guys a way of contacting me," Buffy took two mirrors from her backpack and handed one each to her two friends. "Just say my name into the mirror and if I can I'll answer. You'll be able to see me and we can talk, like web-cam. The same applies if I want to contact you. You'll hear me say your name and you can answer if you're away from prying eyes."

"These are amazing," Xander said excitedly.

"They really are," Willow concurred. "But what if I'm in class when you call me? Everyone will hear and wonder what it is."

"Nope," Buffy disagreed. "They're charmed so only the owner can hear them."

"That is so advanced. I haven't read anything like that."

"I don't think this kind of thing is possible with wicca," Buffy said thoughtfully.

"Do these only work with you, or can Will and I talk to each other too?" Xander asked. "They would be great if I needed help in the middle of a pop quiz."

"You can talk to each other too, but I better not hear you've been using them to cheat," Buffy said warningly. "Besides, you'd probably be kicked out for talking to your mirror in class. Just because no one else can hear the voice of the person on the other end doesn't mean they can't hear _you_. And Snyder would probably have you shipped off to a mental institution if you try telling him you were talking to someone through it."

"Who else has one of these? Does Giles?" Willow asked.

"Angel and Giles both have them," Buffy told them. "You can call either of them anytime. Spike has one too, purely to pass on information, but yours aren't connected to his." Willow looked relieved at that. "Harry, Ron and Ron's sister Ginny all have them too, as does Tonks. I've left all their mirrors connected to yours, just in case you ever feel the need to talk to them. Tonks here is an Auror, which is like magical police, so if you feel like you're in danger she's probably the one to call."

"I can make portkeys in a trice," Tonks chirped. "But I won't take it kindly if it's just a false alarm."

Both Xander and Willow nodded in understanding.

"I'm gonna need to see Kendra later and I've got to go and give mom a mirror too. If you guys want to tag along you're welcome."

Xander looked all for it, but Willow shook her head regretfully. "We have history in ten minutes. We can meet you at your place after."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The afternoon passed very quickly. Joyce Summers was overjoyed to see her daughter and happily welcomed her strange pink haired friend into their home. When Xander and Willow joined them, Joyce offered to cook for everyone and they enjoyed a meal filled with laughter and reminiscing. After much hassling, both witches consented to performing a couple of charms and Buffy transfigured a lamp into a cat and then back again. Tonks entertained them with her normal dinnertime routine of switching noses between bites and morphed her hair into various shades and styles for their amusement.

When night fell they bid Joyce farewell. She was sad to see them go, but knew that she could keep in contact with Buffy via the small mirror she now clutched in her left hand as she waved with her right.

"Are we gonna patrol?" Xander asked excitedly. "We haven't since you left. Kendra won't let us do anything."

"I suppose we could swing a couple of cemeteries," Buffy mused. "We might run into her there and save us a trip to the library. The less I have to see of Mein Fuehrer the happier I'll be."

"You met him already?" Willow asked, not having heard about their earlier visit to the library.

"Unfortunately," Buffy grimaced. "I guess he's what Giles would call a traditional type Watcher. He's more interested in the fight than the well-being of his Slayer. He acts like she's not even human."

The quartet entered Restfield Cemetery and followed the rather meandering path through it. Tonks looked rather on edge, but Buffy and her friends felt very relaxed. Buffy was meant for this kind of thing, after all and both Willow and Xander knew she could take care of anything that might jump out on them.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Tonks muttered, eyeing the nearby graves. "If a vampire rises I don't know how much good I'll be."

Buffy snorted. "You don't have to be good for a newbie vamp. They practically stake themselves. Just have your wand ready." This reminded her of something. "Tell me you two at least have a cross or something."

Xander waved a stake at her and Willow pulled a cross pendant from her top. It was reminiscent of the one Angel had given Buffy the night they met. Tonks' hand was buried in her jacket pocket, probably gripping her wand. Buffy wondered if she really believed the whole Slayer thing, or if she was just going along with it because of what she had been told about them in her training.

"Do you have to make so much noise?" Tonks growled. "I'm trying to listen."

Buffy smiled at her. "No matter how quiet we are, you won't hear what I can." It was true. Buffy could hear the scratching of a vampire clawing out of his grave. Her senses were attuned to the sound and she could always pick it out, no matter what else was going on around her.

"What can you hear?" Tonks said challengingly.

"You see that grave over there? The one with the lillies on it."

"Yeah," Tonks said uncertainly. "What about it?"

Before Buffy could answer a hand shot up out of the earth, soon followed by another. Tonks gasped and pulled out her wand. "Stay behind me," she ordered. It was becoming clearer by the moment that Tonks had just been going along with Buffy's claims of being the Slayer.

"Not this time," Buffy informed her, stepping confidently towards the grave. The vampire was almost out now and picking himself up. She could hear her friends stopping Tonks from following her and was grateful. The older woman would need to see this to really believe it.

The vampire brushed off his suit and looked up. He seemed surprised to see the people standing around his grave, especially as only one of them looked even slightly nervous and she was being restrained. "Hi," he said cockily.

"Bye," Buffy replied and kicked him square in the chest. He fell back over his headstone and rolled as Buffy jumped over it herself. She aimed a second kick but he caught her ankle. He grinned at her for a second before throwing it upwards. Buffy used the motion to propel herself into a backwards somersault, landing on her feet, on top of the headstone.

She executed a neat spin kick that knocked him back and followed it up with a swift punch to the jaw. As he stumbled Buffy called out, "Xander, the stake."

Xander tossed it to her. Buffy didn't even look at it as it arced towards her. Her hand shot out and caught it deftly and a moment later it was buried in the vampires chest. She had moved so quickly that her companions barely saw it. The vampire himself, was staring at the stake protruding from his chest in amazement.

Buffy watched in satisfaction as the vampire turned to dust. "I told you newbies were easy," she said, turning back to her friends.

Tonks' mouth was hanging open. She stared at Buffy unabashedly. "How did you… what was…how…?" Her wand was still pointed at the spot where the vampire had last been, though it was shaking slightly.

"You didn't really believe me did you?"

"I thought you were exaggerating," Tonks said breathlessly. "I've never seen anyone move like that."

Buffy smiled gently. "I'm a Slayer. It's what I do. I have super speed and strength to help me fight the monsters, not to mention enhanced healing abilities and senses. I'm not afraid of the things that lurk in the darkness, but they're afraid of me."

"I thought Slayer was some kind of self-appointed title."

"Not even remotely," Buffy said distastefully. "If I could walk away from being the Slayer I would. I never had a choice in this, I was Chosen for it. My Watchers gave me the training I needed, but in the end it's my destiny and I'm the only one that can do it."

"The other girl?"

"Kendra? She's Chosen too. I guess there's two of us these days, but that's a new development."

"It's amazing," Tonks said reverently. "How do you get to be Chosen?"

"I wouldn't know," Buffy replied. "It's not like you apply and get picked out of hundreds of applicants. The Powers That Be just decide on who they think is the best choice I guess."

"Could I become a Slayer?" Tonks asked hopefully.

Buffy frowned. This wasn't the way she expected this conversation to go. "No," she said bluntly. "You wouldn't want it anyway. It's a lot of hassle and you get nothing out of it, apart from a couple of nifty powers, which I could frankly do without. I spent every night I was here, for over a year, _fighting for my life_. I don't get nights off, or vacations from it. I can't escape the fact that this is my destiny and that I will die fighting a war that is being waged by men who are too scared to get off their butts and help me. Then some other poor girl will take my place and the cycle will start all over again, only she might end up like Kendra and be too screwed up to realise that there is more to her life than killing." Buffy was aware that she was ranting and took a deep breath.

Tonks held up her hands. "Looks like I've broached a touchy subject. I'm sorry."

Buffy sighed. "It's ok. Can we drop it though? Let's go to the next couple of cemeteries. If we don't find Kendra there we can head over to the library." She turned on her heel and stalked away, leaving the others to follow her.

She pretended not to listen as Tonks asked about how many cemeteries there were in Sunnydale and heard Willow's answer. "Far too many, for a town this size and you wouldn't believe how many churches we have."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The rest of the night had been uneventful. They'd found one more vampire when they were walking down Main Street, but nothing else appeared to be rising that night. Buffy had lightened up a little after her second slay of the night and Tonks appeared contrite when she apologised for her lack of tact on the Slayer issue. In higher spirits they entered the library.

Buffy knew instantly that something was wrong. She could almost taste the metallic tang of blood in the air and tensed. She held up a hand to signal caution and gestured to Xander and Willow to keep watch. She withdrew her wand and nodded for Tonks to do the same, although Buffy shook her sleeve over her hand and all but the tip of her wand, so as to keep it hidden.

They advanced into the library and checked the office. Tonks checked over the counter, but there was nothing there. Buffy walked up the steps and into the stacks. "Mr Zabuto?" she called.

A tortured groan came from somewhere on her right. Waving to Tonks to come help her, Buffy ran to the source of the noise. She found Zabuto, lying in a pool of blood, holding his stomach tightly. She ran to his side quickly and yelled for Tonks to call an ambulance. She removed his hands gently from his wounds and placed her own over them to keep pressure on them. "Who did this?" she asked desperately. "Vampires?" She knew as she said it that it was unlikely. No vampire would waste so much blood.

"K-Kendra," he gasped.

"She's not here," Buffy said quickly.

"No. She did this…" Zabuto said through clenched teeth.

"No," Buffy said adamantly. "She wouldn't."

"She…did."

Buffy stared at him in disbelief. Kendra was a Slayer. There was no way she would kill her Watcher. Unless… Spike's words came back to her. '_I think something big is going to happen in a few days, but I couldn't really tell you what._' He'd also said that Ethan would be involved somehow. Was this what Spike had warned her about? Could it be the Slayer curse? Was she under Voldemort's control now?

"You must…" Zabuto turned his head away and coughed. When he looked back at her blood covered his lips. "There is nothing more dangerous…than a rogue Slayer. You…must kill her."

"I can't," Buffy said, horrified. "She's human."

"She is…a Slayer. Her fate…is to die for the cause. Another will be Called…in her place."

He was fading fast and Buffy didn't know how much longer he had. "Tonks, where's that ambulance?" she yelled, stamping down on the irritation that the Watcher's words had raised in her. Giles and Merrick had both warned her in the past about some of their colleagues' views on Slayers, but she had never been faced with it in such a way before.

"They're on their way," Xander said, coming to stand next to her. "I made the call."

Buffy realised belatedly that Tonks probably didn't know how to use a phone, but said nothing as she nodded at Xander gratefully. She looked back at Zabuto. His eyes were closed now and his breathing shallow. "They'd better get here soon."

"Hermione, we need to get out of here," Tonks said suddenly.

"We can't. We need to stay until the paramedics get here." Xander knelt on Zabuto's other side and helped Buffy apply pressure.

"You're friends can do that," Tonks said forcefully. "You and I can't take the risk of being found here. If Death Eaters have anything to do with this and find out you're here they'll know you had a reason to come back. It won't take an awful lot of digging to find out what that reason is. You don't want to put your mum and friends in danger do you?"

"They're already in danger," Buffy hissed. "Kendra's probably with them right now and she knows all about my friends and mom too, I expect. Mr Zabuto mentioned mom when we talked earlier."

"Then we're all going," Tonks told her. "They'll have to come with us. Your mum too."

Buffy stared at her disbelievingly. After a moment she nodded. "Fine, but only once we know he's alright."

"Um, Buff," Xande said hesitantly. "It's too late. I think he's dead."

Buffy snapped her head back to the prone man lying between them. She removed one hand from his chest and searched for a pulse. She couldn't find anything. Tonks leaned over her and waved her wand, chanting a diagnostic spell. "I don't think even Poppy could have saved him," she murmured regretfully. "His wounds were really severe. You did the best you could. Whoever did this knew how to inflict damage."

"If there's one thing a Slayer knows it's how to hurt someone," Buffy said sadly.

"You said something about Kendra before," Xander reminded her. "You think she did this."

"He said she did."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**smile** Sorry. They couldn't make it. I didn't want too many characters tripping over each other here.

**TallieCat** Thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

**JessAngelus** As to Draco, that would be telling. Are you sure it wouldn't be a huge sacrifice for you to be paired with Harry? He can be a little whiny. Lol. I love the twins, they were surprisingly easy to write for. I had been dreading that scene and then it just wrote itself. Oh yeah, Ethan torture is always good.

**avidgokufan** I wanted to follow it up, but I didn't think anyone else would be brave enough to look there. The twins were the perfect solution.

**Marcus S. Lazarus** I think that was my longest review so far, so thanks for that. I think a lot of people have trouble with the Hermione becoming Buffy thing, I only hope they aren't giving up on me as soon as they realise that. It took me ages to work out how the two groups lost contact so it's good that it all came together for you. Spike has probably already met Lucius, though he wouldn't have shared his status as a squib. I expect he'll run into Draco at some point though, that could be fun. That was my favourite scene too. I love Angel and he totally humiliated Snape, who I don't love even slightly so that was great fun to write. Thank you for the suggestion. Angel will be particularly upset about someone abusing the sanctity of their soul, but I don't want to tell you where I'm going with that.

Thanks also go to **iamkagomeiloveinuyasha, Silent Me, Angel-love-buffy, enchantedlight **and **General Mac.**

I hope everyone enjoyed this latest chapter, despite the character death. Please review and let me know. (They make me feel very good about myself.)

Dozy.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18.

Buffy stared around at the rather crowded sitting room. Everyone was at Giles' place now and that meant _everyone._ The first thing Buffy had done when the paramedics had finally left with instructions not to disturb the body until someone from the morgue and police departments had come by, was to contact Giles on her mirror and have him assemble the troops. He'd called Ron, Harry and Ginny down from Hogwarts and the twins from their shop in Diagon Alley and they had been sitting here for quite some time now, along with Angel, who had been especially impatient for Buffy to return.

Meanwhile Buffy and her group had headed in various directions. Willow and Xander had each gone to their own homes to collect their belongings, Buffy had headed off to get her mother packing and try and explain what was going on and Tonks had gone to find Ms Calendar as she was the only other person aside from Snyder and the girl in the park that Buffy had spoken to all day. Both of them would be safe enough. It was a well-known fact that there was no love lost between Buffy and Snyder and Buffy couldn't even remember the ex-cheerleader's name. It hadn't been a very friendly conversation anyway. It had been a little dangerous splitting up like that, but speed was more important and they couldn't afford to have the whole group going from house to house.

Joyce had taken some convincing. Buffy had first told her that a man had died and that it was connected to the Death Eaters who might find out she had been here and start looking for a reason why. When that hadn't been enough, Buffy had told her about Slayers. Joyce had been very upset, not really understanding what was going on. In the end Buffy had packed for her with magic and when the others arrived she had held her mother's hand through the portkey ride.

Xander's parents had got into a huge fight with him when he told them he was leaving, culminating in them practically throwing him out of the house. His father had been drunk again and his mother just blithely went along with what he said. They might regret their decisions come morning, but by then it would be too late.

Willow's parents were both out of town. She packed her things, using a little bit of wiccan magic to speed it along and left a note telling her mom and dad that she had been accepted into a school in England and could be contacted via e-mail, if they so wished. Sometimes Buffy was so glad her mom was a nice, normal, caring person, if somewhat fond of denial land.

Tonks had found Ms Calendar easily enough and had quickly persuaded her to come along. Ms Calendar had allowed Tonks to pack by magic, which she found fascinating as a dabbler, while she wrote a short, yet offensive letter to Principal Snyder, informing him of her departure from Sunnydale and what she thought of him as an educator and as a human being. She only regretted being unable to say any of it to his face. She'd worked particularly hard on describing his masculinity, or lack thereof in colourful terms that made Tonks' hair blush bright red.

The now slightly larger group had met up at Buffy's house. They had briefly discussed bringing Cordelia along too, but no one would ever think the Queen of Sunnydale High would deign to be a part of this group. Cordy was always very conscientious of appearing hostile to the group whenever they were in public and she would probably refuse anyway. Besides, no one was really all that keen on the idea of spending lots and lots of time with a Cordelia Chase who was unable to shop whenever she wished.

They had landed on Giles' doorstep and gone looking for the others, finally finding them in the library. Buffy had sent Joyce upstairs to lie down. She didn't really want her mother here for the impending discussion and she was still a bit jittery from her daughter's revelations and the portkey journey. It was early morning here now and the Hogwarts students were starting to look tired. Buffy praised the Slayer constitution once more as she studied Tonks' exhausted face. They'd both been up almost twenty four hours by now and had travelled across continents via portkey, not to mention the adrenaline rush of two vampires and the emotional strain of finding Mr Zabuto dying. Buffy quickly made the introductions and sat down, resting her head in her hands.

"Very well. We're all here. Would someone please tell us what this is about?" Giles sounded a little testy. He hadn't appreciated the early wake up call either.

Angel, probably the only one in the room who was fully awake, apart from Buffy and the four newly relocated Americans, sniffed the air. "I can smell blood."

"Oh," Buffy shrugged and opened her jacket. "It's not mine. I haven't had a chance to change." Bloodstains were smeared up her top she noticed distastefully. Yet another sacrifice she had made for the cause.

"Are you a witch or aren't you?" Ron rolled his eyes.

It took Buffy a long moment to realise what he meant by that. "Oh," she said at last, blushing slightly. "Sometimes I forget that there are easier ways." She pulled her wand from her pocket and murmured, "_Scourgify._" The top was instantly as good as new.

Willow, Xander and Ms Calendar all looked amazed by the display. Ms Calendar seemed a little envious and Xander just goggled at her. "You couldn't have remembered that earlier?" he asked irritably, pointing at his own bloodstained shirt.

Buffy grinned and performed the charm on him too.

"As much fun as this is," Giles said sarcastically. "I find myself ever so curious as to why I have been invaded and why some of you are covered in blood." Buffy knew he was worried, he only ever snapped when he was concerned. Or when Ethan was around.

Buffy sobered immediately. "We have a serious problem," she told them all. "The mission that Voldemort sent Ethan on was in Sunnydale. They have Kendra."

Silence filled the room. "How did you work that out?" Xander asked. "So she murdered Mr Zabuto. Maybe she just really didn't like the guy."

"Mr Zabuto is dead?" Giles exclaimed. "And you think Kendra killed him?"

"He told me she attacked him before he died," Buffy sighed.

Giles removed his glasses and polished them. "Dear Lord," he murmured. "Perhaps you'd better start from the beginning."

Buffy nodded slightly. "Ok. Tonks and I took a portkey to Sunnydale. We went to the High School and spoke to a few people, including Mr Zabuto. He told me that Kendra wasn't there right then, but to come back later."

"Why did you want to speak to Kendra anyway?" Willow asked. "You never said."

"A few nights ago I had a dream, or maybe I should say, _we_ had a dream. Kendra and I. She told me that she thought a dark power was coming for her. I needed to speak to her in person, to warn her. I guess I was too late."

"Is that possible?" Ms Calendar wondered aloud. "A shared dream?"

Giles frowned in thought. "There has never been an occasion where there have been two Slayers at once. Not until now. It's possible there's some kind of connection between the two girls that caused them to share a dream. Something that makes it possible for them when it wouldn't be for anyone else."

"Like me and Voldemort," Harry offered. "We have a connection because of the night he tried to kill me and sometimes my dreams turn into visions of what he's doing."

"Quite so," Giles agreed, ignoring the confused looks on some of the Sunnydale group's faces. "Please continue Buffy."

"We went back to see Zabuto when it got dark. Kendra wasn't there, but he was. He was lying in the stacks, bleeding to death from a couple of stab wounds. It must have happened moments before we got there. He told me that Kendra did it."

"Why would she do that?" Fred asked. "I thought she was like you."

"Don't you just kill bad guys?" George asked. "Or was he a bad guy?"

Xander half snorted. "If I had to put up with him as much as she did, I think I would have killed him long ago."

"Kendra _is_ like me. We're both Slayers," Buffy said with a glare at Xander. She hadn't liked Zabuto either, but there was no need to speak ill of the dead. "And Slayers don't kill humans. No matter how evil they might be. I think she's under the spell."

"That would make sense," Giles agreed. "She is not the type to kill someone in anger. She has been trained to suppress her emotions."

"So she's not even allowed to feel upset that she's under the control of some megalomaniac wizard who wants to kill pretty much everyone who doesn't agree with him?" Buffy exclaimed incredulously. "I take it all back. If I could, I'd bring him back from the dead and kill him myself."

"His methods are very traditional," Giles explained patiently. "You and I may not like them, but that is how the Council expects all its Slayers to be trained."

"I knew I hated those creeps," Buffy said sadly, thinking of the life Kendra had never been allowed to live and maybe now never would. If the Council had found her when she was younger would she have turned out the same way? Probably. And the worst part was that Kendra didn't even know that she was so messed up.

"Is it really that bad?" Ron asked worriedly. "This Kendra girl working for You-Know-Who I mean?"

Buffy could see Xander's raised eyebrows at that particular expression as Tonks answered. "If she's as good as Hermione here then yes. You should have seen her boys. It was magnificent. I've never seen anyone move like that. She killed two vampires and barely even broke out in a sweat."

Harry and Ron looked particularly impressed, while Fred and George gave Buffy some appraising glances. Ginny grinned at her as Giles cleared his throat.

"A rogue Slayer is a dangerous thing indeed," he said seriously. "Not only does she have some immunity to magic, but her strength and speed will allow her to tear her way through most wizard armies with surprising ease even though she cannot use magic herself."

"Fortunately we have a Slayer of our own," Xander said proudly.

"You still haven't told us about the spell," Willow pointed out.

"We don't know all that much about it yet," Giles told her, entering lecture mode. "We obtained some of the older Watcher Diaries from Ethan. He told us that what we needed to know was contained therein, though they have not been terribly informative as of yet. Most of what we do know came from Ethan himself and I'm not sure how much we can rely on that information."

"Try, not at all," Angel muttered.

"We've gathered that it is some kind of wiccan spell as the wizards were unable to remove it themselves the first time it was used," Giles continued. "A demon managed to reverse its effects and that lends credence to our theory. Its purpose is to control the Slayer's body, perhaps even her mind, we have no way of knowing for certain."

"So Ethan used this spell on Kendra," Willow mused. "I knew she would never do something like that on her own. Not that I knew her well or anything."

"And Ethan handed her over to this Morty guy? Or Mortimer? Whatever his name is."

"That's Voldemort, Xander," Buffy said with a small smile. "And yes." A thought struck her then. "Why though? Why kill Mr Zabuto. I agree he wasn't exactly the nicest person, but what did he do to deserve that? Better yet, what could he have done?"

Giles frowned. "Kendra was taken from her parents at a young age, to be raised by Mr Zabuto and trained in the ways of a Slayer. Growing up she would have looked upon him as the closest thing to a parent she had ever known.

"What if she had never been Called?" Buffy asked indignantly. "Would he have waited until she was too old and then sent her packing?"

"I'm sorry I ruined your life, but you aren't a Slayer and I am no longer required to care for you," Xander said in a mock Britsh accent. "Off with you now. I have other lives to destroy."

"So maybe Voldemort wanted him dead because a part of her is still alive inside there and can fight it," Buffy suggested. "He might have thought that she would have fought it for Mr Zabuto. If so then he was getting rid of a potential threat to his new toy."

"Why wouldn't you want to fight it?" Willow asked.

"If it feels anything like the _Imperious_ curse then she'll be feeling very relaxed and at peace right now," Buffy explained. "Why would she want to fight that?" Buffy shook her head sadly. "He's like her father. I can't believe he told me to kill her. Like she was nothing. He didn't want us to save her, just kill her."

"Yet Voldemort may have been correct in his assumption that Mr Zabuto was the only one to whom she was emotionally attached enough to fight for," Giles concluded. "If she was capable of feeling emotions at all."

"She could," Buffy said thoughtfully. "She just hid them very well. And I think there might be someone else she's attached to."

"Who?" Giles asked eagerly. "We may need them before this is over."

"Me," Buffy replied. "In our dream she called me her sister. I may be able to get through to her."

"It could be worth a try. I don't believe she has any close friends to fight for."

"We tried to be her friends," Willow said sadly. "She just said that a Slayer doesn't need friends. A Slayer doesn't need anybody."

"She's wrong," Buffy said angrily. "A Slayer needs all the friends she can get, not just for back up. Sometimes it gets so dark, so scary, you need someone to pull you back into the light. Everyone here has done that for me at some point."

"I hate to be the one to bring this conversation even further down," Ms Calendar said pensively. "But what do you think Morty will do now with his brand new Slayer."

"Ethan said that the last time this happened, the Slayer in question decimated the wizard population," Buffy said thoughtfully. "I expect we'll see an increase in attacks pretty soon, people being murdered in unspeakable ways, that sort of thing."

"Can you beat her?" Ginny asked quietly.

Buffy thought about it for a second. "I don't know. I've got over a year on her in actual combat experience, but she's been training for most of her life. It could be a close thing."

"Speak to Spike," Angel suggested. "He wasn't in town for long after Kendra arrived, but I know they fought a time or two. Maybe he could give you some insight on her style."

"That's a good idea," Buffy agreed. "Didn't you say that you fought her too?"

"A couple of times," Angel nodded. "Mostly I was trying to get away though so they were always pretty short and involved more running than fighting. I didn't want to get killed by sticking around too long."

"Will you tell the Order about this?" Tonks asked abruptly. "I know you don't like them, but this Kendra girl is very dangerous. They'd appreciate a warning at least."

"It's not that I don't like them," Buffy disagreed. "I just don't trust them to finish this war."

"I don't trust them to help me defeat Voldemort," Harry added. "Dumbledore may be giving me private lessons, but he's not exactly training me to fight."

"We don't trust the Order not to be complete gits," Fred said happily, not wanting to be left out, while George nodded cheerfully.

Buffy sighed. "You're right though. They need to know. If they face her unprepared she'll kill them all the quicker."

"Perhaps I should tell them," Giles suggested. "Then they need not know you were in Sunnydale today."

"Small problem with that," Buffy pointed out. "You can't get near the castle without remembering a prior engagement."

"Bring them here," Ron said hesitantly.

After a moment Buffy agreed. She didn't really want them knowing about this house, but if she told them all this herself they would want to know how she found out, which would lead to questions she couldn't answer about sneaking off to Sunnydale and how she got there to Tonk' position as her spy being revealed and that would be far worse. Tonks could be kicked out of the Order and Dumbledore would keep a closer watch on her and her friends.

"It doesn't have to be the house itself," Ginny said as though she had read Buffy's mind. "Get a room in the Hog's Head again, or something."

"So what now?" Fred asked.

"Oh Fearless Leader, please give us our orders," George prompted.

Buffy took a deep breath. "Giles, are you able to put up a few house guests?"

Giles nodded. "I think that's best, yes. There's plenty of room."

"Great. I know this is a huge upheaval for you, but I'm glad you'll all be close by. Xander, Ms Calendar, can you help Giles study the Watcher Diaries? Mom can give you a hand too if she feels up to it. Willow, I need you to look into wiccan spells that could be what we're looking at here, if we find a counter spell you'll be our witch, Ms Calendar can help, but you're the one with the most wiccan ability." Willow, who had frowned when Buffy had not included her in the fist research group, perked up at this and smiled eagerly. "Fred and George keep doing what you're doing. You're our eyes in the wizarding world. Anything interesting, contact me or Giles about."

"What about us?" Ron asked with interest.

"I think it's time we stepped up our training. We need to spend some time looking up hexes and shields and things and practise them as much as possible. It'll be like fourth year and the Third Task."

Everyone started standing as the orders were handed out. Tonks came up to Buffy and grinned brightly, waiting. "Getting into the Department of Mysteries is a priority," Buffy told her. "I need to hear that prophecy. It might even mention Kendra's part in all this."

"I'll work on it." Tonks saluted and left with the twins.

Buffy pulled Giles aside. "I told mom that I'm the Slayer," Buffy said carefully. "It was the only way to get her here. I don't know that she really understood it though. Could you talk to her?"

Giles sighed. "Of course, Buffy. I'll do my best."

Angel came over and took Buffy's hand. "The boys and Ginny have already gone," he murmured. "How about I walk you back to school."

After wishing everyone a good night and promising to visit soon, the two left, hand in hand. Buffy leaned into Angel's shoulder as they walked in a comfortable silence.

"I don't know what to do," Buffy said, sounding heartbroken.

"You've made a good start," Angel assured her.

"How could I let something like that happen to my sister? I should have gone as soon as I had the dream. I shouldn't have waited."

"You had no way of knowing this would happen," Angel comforted her. "We all thought he would come for you."

"But we knew there was the possibility that he wouldn't," Buffy insisted. "It's not exactly a secret that there are two Slayers now. Spike knew. All the Sunnydale vampires know. It was pretty obvious. Vampires like to talk. They would have told him. We should have protected her."

"She wouldn't have wanted your protection," Angel pointed out. "You've said it yourself, Slayers aren't meant to be protected from the evils of the world. You are the protectors."

"I could have at least warned her."

Angel sighed and pulled her closer. "It's too late for could haves. We'll save her. I promise you that."

"And what if we can't."

"No what ifs either," Angel admonished. "We'll do what we can. No one expects anymore of you than that."

He stopped and took her into his arms. The school gates were in sight now and Buffy really didn't want to go in there. She wondered, not for the first time, how she Ron, Harry and Ginny had managed to get away with sneaking off the school grounds, pretty much every night since their return from the Christmas holiday. The Weasley twins had never been caught either, so Dumbledore knew and didn't care, or had no way of knowing. Buffy wasn't sure which was worse, but knew that the castle wasn't as safe as they all thought either way.

"I love you," Angel said, cutting off her thoughts.

Buffy stared at him in surprise. "I love you too."

"Your mom loves you and so do all your friends. We are all here because we love you."

Buffy wasn't sure what he was trying to say, so remained silent.

"We will help you because of that love. Voldemort will tremble before us because we are united by love."

"Kendra never had that," Buffy said sadly.

"But she will. When she is safe again we'll teach her what it is to have people who care about you and who will fight at your side."

"That would be nice," Buffy said softly. "She needs someone."

"She has you," Angel smiled and put a finger under her chin so he could look into her eyes. "And I'm sure that she who slew the Master must frighten Voldemort terribly. Or should I say Morty?"

Buffy snorted at the name. "I like it. It makes me think of him as this harmless little old man. Mortimer. Morty for short. Sometimes you gotta love the way Xander thinks."

Angel grinned. He lowered his head down to hers and kissed her gently. "You should go," he said gently. "You have class tomorrow and you're tired."

"Do I hafta?" Buffy asked, leaning into his chest. "I feel so comfortable right now." They stood that way for a time, soaking in each other's presence until Buffy regretfully disengaged herself from his arms. With one last chaste kiss Buffy headed up to the school. It had been one heck of a day.

Buffy didn't go to her dormitory straight away. After sneaking through the corridors to avoid Filch and Mrs Norris she arrived in a completely empty common room. She threw up some privacy charms and removed her own mirror from her pocket. "Spike," she said clearly, hoping he would answer quickly.

A moment later Spike's face appeared. "What?" he demanded.

"I need you to tell me what's going on there at the moment," Buffy said simply.

"There's a party of some kind. I'm not invited. If that's all you wanted…"

"Who's the party for?"

"I wouldn't know. Is there a point to this, Slayer?"

"Kendra was taken by Voldemort and put under a spell. She's under his control."

"Ah." Spike shrugged. "That's your problem really. I find I don't really care."

"Tell me what you know about her. I'm told you've fought once or twice."

Spike grinned. "I see. So it's tips you're seeking. How to kill a Slayer."

"I don't want t kill her. I just want to know in case she attacks and I need to stop her."

"Not much to tell really," Spike said with a grin. "Girl's very well trained. A bit boring though. Fights as if there were a rule book. What else do you want to know?" Typical Spike. Was he _trying_ to be uncooperative?

"If it came to it," Buffy said hesitantly, "Do you think I can take her?"

"Honestly?" Spike asked seriously. "It's hard to say. Her technique is better, but she has no imagination. You fight with everything you've got, she holds back. I don't know who would win." He grinned viscously. "Two Slayers fighting one another. Now that would be truly something. Let me know when this goes down, Ducks and I'll be there."

Buffy snapped the mirror closed and cancelled the charms. That had been spectacularly unhelpful. When did she ever start thinking that Spike would drop the act and just tell her what she wanted to know? Stretching slightly, she stood an ascended the stairs to the girls rooms. It was definitely time for bed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Buffy walked along the forest path. Wind howled above the treetops and lightning flashed in the dark sky. Buffy looked around her as branches swayed and leaves rustled. Why was she here?_

"_This is my mind," Kendra said, stepping in front of her. "This is my prison."_

"_He doesn't control it?" Buffy asked hopefully._

"_He cannot. My body does as he commands, but my mind, my spirit is locked here He can see me here, but not shape my thoughts. It is my cell, yet it protects me."_

"_You said he can see you. Can he see what you're thinking?"_

"_He has ordered my body to be co-operative. He can order me to talk and I cannot stop it. When I tried he used black magic upon me and looked within my mind for my deepest secrets to use against me."_

"_It must be horrible."_

_Kendra grimaced. "It is and that is not the worst of it. He knows of your friends, Buffy. He will come for them."_

"_They're safe," Buffy assured her. "We found Mr Zabuto's body earlier and we guessed what had happened. We took my friends back with us just in case."_

"_Do not tell me where they are. He may take that information from me. Tell me nothing that can hurt you or your efforts."_

"_Do you have any idea what's going on? Can you tell me anything?"_

"_I have only a small window to the outside world, other than that I am alone."_

"_Window?"_

_Kendra led her to a pool of water. Rain flecked the surface, but an image could still be seen. It was a party, like the one Spike had mentioned, but not one like any Buffy had ever been to and for that she was grateful. There was no dancing, but a fair amount of drinking. Cages lined one wall and in them were a small number of people. Many of them were bruised and cut all over their bodies. Their clothing was ragged and they all seemed to share a hopeless look. As she watched, a young woman was pulled from a cage by a masked man. She was thrown to the floor roughly and cursed. Buffy couldn't hear the words or the woman's screams, but she didn't need to. She averted her gaze._

"_Look at the man with the broken arm," Kendra said dispassionately. Buffy did so reluctantly. He was fairly young with mousy brown hair. His right arm was broken yet he held a small child to him with his left. His face was a bloody mass. "I did that," Kendra whispered._

_Buffy suddenly realised why Kendra was showing her this. "No. It wasn't you. You can fight this. You have to fight it."_

"_It was me," Kendra insisted. "I heard him beg me to stop, but I kept hitting him. I couldn't control it. He has me."_

"_No!" Buffy cried desperately. "We'll get you away from him. You can fight this spell."_

"_I couldn't fight it when he had me kill my Watcher," Kendra said with just the slightest tinge of sadness. "He said it was a test. He wanted to know if I could fight him or not. He reasoned that if I could, I would do it for my Watcher."_

"_You fought it, right?" Buffy asked pleadingly. "You didn't just let him."_

"_I do not know how, Buffy. I tried to fight, but nothing happened. He laughed at me for my efforts."_

"_Then try harder. I believe in you."_

_Kendra looked at her with something like hope in her eyes. "Why?"_

"_Because we are sisters, in everything but blood. Our souls are kindred. That is why I know you will fight this and you will win. I'll help in any way I can."_

"_There is only one thing you can do to help me," Kendra said wistfully. "You must kill me."_

_Buffy shook her head. "I won't."  
_

"_You're the only one who can."_

"_I'll save you, but I won't kill you."_

"_I am beyond saving, my sister," Kendra told her gently. "Now you must save yourself and your friends from _me_. Seek that which is your gift and nothing will stand in your way."_

"_My gift? I don't understand."_

"You will." Kendra looked into the pool again. "Please, Buffy. Do what I have asked of you. Do not let him keep me. I want to be free, or dead."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: I just wanted to apologise for that first scene. I don't like lots of people in one scene, but I felt that they would have everyone that was part of it there. There was also a pretty even amount of Buffy and HP characters present. Willow, Xander, Giles, Ms Calendar and Angel from Buffy (I sent Joyce to bed, but she was still in the house.) Harry, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny and Tonks from HP. Buffy/Hermione could belong in either set. Anyway, I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter. I didn't think it would be ready this soon as I'm doing a lot of overtime at work right now, but I surprised myself.

**Allen Pitt** I always knew I was gonna kill him so I set him up to be mean right off. That way no one was upset when he died. The Mayor might be a tad worried that he doesn't know where they are though. He's a bit of a control freak. Yup, I'm guessing the Council is pretty upset with both Slayers and Giles about now. Technically he's disappeared too and he is supposed to be in charge of Buffy. Oh well, I don't think anyone cares what they think apart from themselves.

**CallaRose4ever** Don't worry, they all made it back safely. You want Kendra to kiss a boy huh? Who would you volunteer for that? Xander?

**Lightdemondarkangel** I like Kendra too, but I don't want to tell you what I have planned for her. If she were to die I doubt I would bring Faith into it. I don't think I could write a convincing Faith. However, the only Slayers that will be in this story will be Buffy and Kendra.

**grd** I totally agree. Better him than Giles. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

**Silent Me** Faith going rogue was never that surprising she had that kind of personality even though I begged her out loud not to do it when it aired, but Kendra is another matter. She's the last person you'd expect to go against the Council and her Watcher, which makes it all the more fun.

**iamkagomiloveinuyasha** I like your scenario. I'm not telling you what I have planned, but I hope you like it just as much. Thank you very much. I think you guys are all awesome for reviewing.

**stasa** Draco really is just an annoying git and I'm having a lot of fun playing with his emotions, just to show he has them. You never know, he might be joining the good guys in another attempt to get close to our Buffy, but he's gotta realise sometime that she just ain't interested. Poor guy. You can see Kendra isn't too happy with her current situation, but at least we still get to talk to her sometimes.

**JessAngelus **Wow. Talk about taking one for the team. Lots of Angel in this chapter to make up for it. He wouldn't have fared too well in Sunnydale in the daytime unless Buffy somehow discovered the gem of Amhara, but I'm not going there. I think this chapter answers your questions about Kendra. Sadly it wasn't her own decision to kill Zabuto. If she'd told me she wanted to I would have found a way without subjecting her to a dark curse, but she actually liked him. I say liked, maybe I should say tolerated instead she's not supposed to like anyone is she? The gang will stay with Giles for now. They can't go to Hogwarts because they wouldn't be able to see it. Even Willow is technically a muggle and the castle had muggle repelling charms and things. Maybe they'll find a way around that later. I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it, I always enjoy reading your reviews.

Thanks also to **spk **and **EnchantedLight.** Thank you to everyone who reviewed. It always makes my day.

Dozy.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19.

Buffy and Ginny were sitting in the common room together, both studying quietly. Buffy was reading up on some interesting hexes for them to practise later on in the Room of Requirement, compiling a list of the best ones in order of importance. It was a habit that both Ron and Harry laughed at her for, but she would always ignore them.

Ginny huffed as she dropped her book on the table. "I hate Snape," she growled. "I have enough to do without him expecting an essay two scrolls long about the use of Shield charms in dueling. I can't even find enough to fill _one _scroll."

"Perhaps a trip to the library is in order," Buffy suggested calmly.

Ginny threw herself back in her seat. "I'm tired. I just want the night off from studying."

"Does that mean you won't be joining us for our study session later?"

"No, I'll be there," Ginny said quickly. "I can't. It's just… It's hard to see the point of all this when we're fighting a war at the same time."

"I know what you mean, I was the same way in Sunnydale," Buffy said, ignoring Ginny's doubtful look. "I know I was always the study bunny before I left here, but there was always something bigger going on while I was there. Sunnydale is on an active Hellmouth, you know. It was hard to concentrate on school when I knew what was going on. It still is I suppose, but here at least I feel that the things I'm learning are actually going to help me with it. Charms and DADA are far more useful to people in our position than Maths and Drama classes."

Ginny opened her mouth to reply when the portrait hole opened unexpectedly and Harry and Ron climbed through. They headed straight for the two girls, both wearing identical frowns.

"Finally managed to stop Ron from eating the school out of food?" Ginny asked teasingly, not noticing their expressions.

"Harry has to go meet Dumbledore for another lesson," Ron said grimly. "I tried to get him to skip it. They're not exactly helpful are they? But he insisted he had to go."

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "Why would he want to skip it? He may not be learning advanced spells, but hearing about Tom Riddle's past is fascinating."

"But not helpful," Ron argued.

"Not yet, but what if there are clues in his past that will help Harry later on? The information could prove invaluable."

"Er, guys," Harry sad hesitantly, as he looked around at the one or two students who were staring to stare at the group with interest.

"Aww, Harry," groaned Seamus. "You couldn't have let them go for a minute or two. We all miss those two constantly bickering."

"Sorry," Harry shrugged. "It might be entertaining for you, but you're not around them all the time."

Ron glared at Harry and stomped off towards the boy's dorms. Harry dropped into a seat next to Ginny. "He didn't want me to go and miss our study session later," he explained.

"Don't worry, he'll calm down before then," Ginny assured him. "He's always been hot tempered but he usually gets over it fairly quickly."

"Were we really that bad?" Buffy asked quietly. "You never said."

Harry's eyes widened almost fearfully. "I have to go meet Dumbledore now," he said urgently standing up.

Buffy grinned. He wasn't one for subtlety. "I'll go with you. I need to speak to him about something."

"You do?" Harry said, giving Ginny a desperate look. He probably thought she was going to ask him about her and Ron arguing some more. Ginny ignored him and picked up her book distastefully.

"Uh huh." She strode towards the portrait, leaving Harry to follow her despondently.

Harry was very tense as they walked the familiar path to the Headmaster's office. He kept giving her sidelong looks as if he expected her to start questioning him any second. She almost did, but decided it was more fun to let him stew for a while. When they reached the gargoyle Harry gave the password and they went up. Buffy knocked on the door. "Come in, Harry," they heard from the other side.

Buffy opened the door and entered. She stopped in front of the desk and smiled sweetly at the old wizard behind it.

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore greeted her pleasantly. "How lovely to see you, but I am afraid I have a lesson scheduled with Mr Potter. I'm sure he will let you know everything we discuss later."

"I'm not here for that," Buffy said, waving her hand dismissively. "I wanted to let you know that my Watcher has requested a word with you. He says he has important information that you should be made aware of."

"Your Watcher?" Dumbledore asked politely.

"Rupert Giles. He sent me an owl earlier," she lied easily. She could tell Giles later to make sure their stories matched. "If it is convenient he would like to meet with you in the Hogs Head this Saturday. I will also be attending."

"How splendid," Dumbledore beamed. "As it turns out a Hogsmeade visit has been planned for this very weekend. I shall be delighted to speak with him and you then. How does lunchtime sound?"

Buffy smiled her acceptance and turned to leave. A lunchtime meeting meant that Angel couldn't be there, but she was sure Giles could handle it with her help.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry snuck into the Room of Requirement just as Ginny threw a curse at Ron. Buffy winked at him and he gave her an uncertain smile in return.

Ron picked himself off the floor, shaking his head. "Tell me again why we can't practise on you, Hermione."

"Because it wouldn't give you an accurate view of your spell-casting," Buffy explained yet again. "Magic used against me has unusual effects."

"So you say," Ron countered. "I think you just don't want to be the practise dummy."

"Fine." Buffy had known this conversation was coming sooner or later. "Throw a stunner at me."

Ron gulped, but did as she said. The other three all stared as the stunner hit her, but had no effect. It hadn't been a particularly strong one. "Ginny, you want to give it a go?"

Ginny nodded. "_Stupefy,_" she called, pointing her wand at Buffy.

Buffy shrugged as the red spell hit her, made her stumble back a few steps, but was otherwise ineffective. "You two are both more than capable of casting stunners. You both performed the spell correctly, yet I am un-stunned. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It's unpredictable, therefore I am a completely useless practise dummy."

Harry snorted from his corner, drawing his wand. "So what are we learning?"

"Nothing yet, we were waiting for you," Buffy said. "Just getting some practise in."

"Did Dumbledore want anything special?" Ginny asked curiously.

"He had another couple of memories to show me," Harry said with a shrug. "I actually think I should talk to Mr Giles about this latest one."

"Anything important?" Buffy asked him.

"I'm not sure. Dumbledore seems to think it is," Harry replied. "Have any of you ever heard of Horcruxes?"

No one had so they decided to speak to Giles about it on Saturday. Harry told them that he had seen a corrupted version of one of Slughorn's memories and it had mentioned Horcruxes. Dumbledore had given him the task of getting the true version of the memory from the new Potions Master. After a short discussion they felt it best to wait and see if Giles had heard of them first.

"Speaking of Saturday," Harry said casually. "You're having your meeting with Dumbledore at lunchtime. Can we come to that?"

"I don't know, Harry," Buffy began, but Harry interrupted her.

"Why not? Dumbledore will expect us to be with you anyway, it's a Hogsmeade weekend after all," he said quickly. "You always get to go to all these meetings, but we have to wait around for you to get back, like when you went to Sunnydale, or when you met Ethan."

Buffy sighed. "I'm trying to keep you safe," she said tiredly. "If Dumbledore thinks you don't know much about me and what I do, then Voldemort will think the same."

"Well I'll never be safe will I?" Harry demanded. "I'm the one he wants the most, or did you already forget the prophecy?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "You can come, is that what you want me to say?" she asked evenly.

"Thank you," Harry said grudgingly.

There was silence for a moment before Harry spoke again. "I'm sorry, Hermione," he said. "I'm just tired of everyone making decisions for me."

"I know how you feel," Buffy said sympathetically. "The Council is always telling me what to do. Fortunately they have no idea I'm here and with Kendra going over to the dark side they have no one to give orders to."

Ginny and Ron were staring between the two of them as if waiting for the fight to start. "Are we going to do _anything_ tonight?" Ginny asked after a while. "Personally I don't think anyone's in the mood. Maybe we should just talk instead."

Buffy nodded and Harry looked relieved. Buffy imagined that his talk with Dumbledore had stressed him out a little. They collapsed onto some cushions and tried to relax.

"I wish it was all over," Harry said pensively.

"Yeah," Ron agreed.

"I hate having this prophecy hanging over my head," he admitted. "I want everything to go back to how it was."

"It's too late for that," Buffy told him. "We can never go back."

"I know," he sighed. "Stupid prophecy. It ruined my life."

"Prophecies are just talk," Buffy reasoned. "Our interpretations of them often lead to the event itself coming to pass. What would happen if we'd never heard it? Would everything still happen exactly the same? Or do we act differently because we did hear it? Will the decisions we make because of the prophecy, ones that wouldn't have come up otherwise, actually cause those events to take place. We can never truly understand it until it's all over."

Ginny was looking thoughtful at this, but Ron snorted. "Come across a lot of prophecies have you? I thought you didn't believe in them."

"I never used to," Buffy conceded. "But don't forget that I packed up and left because of a prophecy and that's not the only one I've dealt with." She'd never told them that before and was prepared for the looks of surprise on their faces.

"Were any of them about you?" Harry asked eagerly.

"I've encountered three prophecies in my time as a Slayer," Buffy said slowly. "One you've heard Giles and I discussing, the one we don't know and the other two are connected to each other. They all involve me in some way."

"How do you know it's about you if you haven't heard it?" asked Ginny.

"What we do know is that it mentions the Witch-born Slayer," Buffy said calmly. "And we know that there has _never_ been one of those before. I'm the first."

Ron screwed up his face in thought. "Giles said there had never been two Slayers at once either. You think that has something to do with the prophecy as well?"

Buffy was surprised he put that together. "It might," she said thoughfully. "But we know _why_ there are two Slayers right now. Kendra being Called as the second Slayer has more to do with one of the other prophecies."

Buffy looked around at her friends. She hadn't wanted to tell them this story. They didn't really know what being the Slayer meant, or just how dangerous it was. Now was the time when they would understand. She hoped they could handle it.

"The first prophecy was about the Anointed One. I won't go into details, but he was basically the way of getting me into position for the second one to come to pass. The prophecy said that he would lead me into Hell."

Ron gaped at her. "Hell! Did you… Has this happened yet? You can't go to Hell!"

"It was a metaphoric Hell," Buffy explained patiently. "The Anointed One's task was to lead me to the Master."

Ginny gasped. "Oh no. He's supposed to be really scary." She had obviously forgotten that Buffy had told them that he was dead several times when around Snape. Their Professor was still insisting that the vampire in question was still alive.

"That brings us to the third prophecy about me," Buffy said quietly. "The Master was trapped in an underground church by some kind of mystical energy. His minions could come and go, but he was stuck there. One night there was this earthquake and there were other signs like a cat giving birth to a litter of snakes that all pointed to the apocalypse."

"The end of the world?" Ginny asked disbelievingly.

"Why didn't we hear about this?" Harry wondered.

Buffy ignored them. "I was going to see Giles after I saw blood pouring out of the taps in the girls toilets and I overheard him speaking to Angel. He'd just translated the prophecy it said," Buffy took a deep breath. "It said that 'The Master will rise and the Slayer will die.'"

No one spoke as they allowed that to sink in. Buffy stood and began to pace. She was feeling restless and emotional. She wanted to pound something, but now wasn't the time.

"When will it happen?" Harry asked in a defeated voice.

"It already has. I heard it the night before I was supposed to die. I freaked out, I guess. I didn't want to die. You have no idea how scared I was. But when it came to it I knew I had to go anyway. I faced the Master."

Ron snorted. "You're not dead, so let me guess, Trelawney gave that prophecy too."

Buffy shook her head in frustration. "The Anointed One led me to the church where the Master was waiting. I never stood a chance. He used some kind of power to stop me from running away and he bit me." Buffy dropped to her knees in front of them and pulled her hair away from her neck, revealing the faint scars that were still there. Ginny and the boys leaned closer to get a better look.

"I don't understand," Harry said slowly.

"He didn't take all that much, just enough to weaken me," Buffy explained. "Then he threw me into a pool of water and I drowned. My blood gave him the power to break free and he left and I… I died." Buffy saw the tears pricking Ginny's eyes and went over to hug her. "I would have stayed dead if it wasn't for Xander and Angel. They found me and Xander revived me with muggle CPR. I woke up and went to find the Master again. Long story short, I kicked his ass."

Ginny was holding her tightly. "You died!"

"I did," Buffy said morosely. They sat like that for some time, Ginny crying onto Buffy's shoulder, while Harry and Ron looked tense.

"What has that got to do with Kendra?" Harry asked at last. "You said they were related."

"You don't get a new Slayer until the old one dies," Buffy said gently. "If I hadn't died she would still be just another potential Slayer, training every day for something that might never happen." She sighed. She's never wanted to tell them about her death. "The point of the story is that you can't trust prophecies. They never tell you everything."

"That one did," Ron said bluntly. "It said you would die and you did."

"And it's that simple is it?" Buffy asked. "What if I had never heard it? What if Giles had never even translated it? Do you think the outcome would have been the same?"

"Of course," Ron said as though it were simple. "It was prophesised."

"Why did I go down there, Ron?"

"Because you knew he was going to rise and end the world, obviously," Ron said proudly.

"How did I know that?"

"It's what the prophecy said," Harry said, biting his lip. "You wouldn't have known otherwise."

And what set The Master free?"

Ginny gasped and pushed away from Buffy. Harry's expression told her he understood too, but Ron was looking at her blankly. "I did," Buffy said pointedly. "If I hadn't have gone down there, he would never have gotten free. If I hadn't heard the prophecy I wouldn't have gone." She paused as Ron's eyes widened in understanding. "It's the same with Harry's prophecy. If Voldemort hadn't heard even the first part of it he wouldn't know who was the threat to him. Would he still have tried to kill Harry as a baby? He might have killed his parents, but no one could understand why he would kill a defenceless baby. Especially with a curse as powerful as _Avada Kedavra_ when something far simpler would have sufficed. It's entirely possible that if no one had ever heard the prophecy it wouldn't have come true, because he wouldn't have tried to kill Harry, or would have used something else like _diffindo_. Harry wouldn't be marked and we wouldn't even be having this conversation."

"You don't know that," Harry pointed out.

"No, I don't," Buffy agreed easily. "But it makes sense. Before he killed me, the Master told me that prophecies are tricky, they don't tell you everything you need to know and that's why we should be wary of them. Don't do anything just because it's what the prophecy requires. Only do what you think is the best thing."

Harry frowned, deep in thought. "I need to think about this," he said slowly.

"That's probably a good idea," Buffy said. "Take your time and sort this out. No one's demanding you kill Voldemort tonight."

"Thank you," Harry said slowly. "This has really helped."

Buffy leaned over and hugged him, kissing him gently on the cheek. "Anytime," she whispered.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'll look into it," Giles promised, after Harry had told him about the Horcruxes. "However, if it is a wizarding item it is unlikely I will find anything."

"That's alright," Harry said. "We're looking in the Hogwarts library and if I can get the memory from Slughorn we'll find out that way. I think Dumbledore knows more about them than he's told me."

"This is so weird," Xander said, pulling another book towards him. "Getting memories? What's that about?"

"Wizards have a device called a pensive that can show memories," Willow informed him. She looked around at all the surprised faces. "What? It was mentioned in 'Hogwarts: A History.'"

"You read that?" Ron exclaimed.

"Buffy let me read her copy," Willow said happily. "It's a great book. It's really fascinating to read about how the school was constructed and how it's been protected. Like the muggle repelling charms. I wonder if they'd work on me as I'm practising wicca. And then there are all the paintings and the ghosts and the secret passageways. It sounds like an exciting place to go to school."

"See," Buffy said smugly. "I've been telling you for years that you should read it, but did either of you listen to me? No."

Ron threw a cushion at her, a slight smirk on his lips. Buffy snatched the cushion from the air and put it behind her back. "Thanks, Ron."

It was Saturday and the students were all wandering around the village while Buffy and friends were sitting comfortably in Giles' library. The four Hogwarts students had spent an hour shopping and would probably do more later, but they all felt that they should meet up to compare notes before some of them went to see Dumbledore.

"Giles?" Buffy said suddenly, finally putting voice to something that had been bothering her for a while. "Do the Council know what happened to Kendra?"

Giles closed the book he was scanning with a small frown. "Not as far as I am aware," he said tiredly. "I have not informed them. They may suspect that something has happened, but with Mr Zabuto dead they have no operative in Sunnydale."

"Why didn't you tell them?" Buffy wondered.

"Because then I would need to explain how I found out when I am no longer living there. I might be able to make some excuse, but I could not answer the other questions they would have for me. Such as where I _am_ living now and where _you_ are."

Buffy nodded. She'd thought as much, but had wanted to check. "I had another dream with Kendra."

Giles eyed her worriedly. "Yes?"

"She asked me to do the same thing Mr Zabuto did."

"As much as I dislike the idea, it may become necessary," he said softly.

"I know," Buffy murmured.

"And you are the only one who would be able to do that."

"She can see what's going on around her, Giles. She's trapped in her own mind, begging for a way out." Buffy dropped her head onto the table, banging it slightly.

Apparently no one knew what to say to that as her pronouncement was met with silence. She felt an arm slip around her shoulders and looked up into Willow's eyes. The redhead held her tightly. "We're looking for a way to help her," she promised.

Buffy didn't trust herself to speak right now, so merely nodded in reply and wiped her eyes. "We should probably get going," she said, standing up.

Immediately everyone stood, looking at her expectantly. Buffy rolled her eyes at them. "We can't all go. We don't want it to look like a set up." She thought about it for a minute. "I think it should be just me, Giles and Harry. I'd rather no one knew about Xander and Willow just yet and Angel obviously can't go during the day."

"What about us?" Ginny demanded.

"Like I said, we don't want too many people going and I promised Harry he could come. We'll tell you everything when we get back."

Ginny huffed and sat back down. "_Fine_. We'll meet you back here afterwards."

Buffy smiled gratefully and led Harry and Giles from the house. Giles was giving Harry disapproving looks, but said nothing. He wouldn't have changed her mind about him being there anyway, she had promised him he could come and she didn't want to break that promise.

It was a sunny day, but recent rain meant that the roads were muddy and dotted with deep puddles. Harry jumped over one with a grin, looking so young and carefree that it tugged on her heart. She laughed at his antics, wishing that the two of them could be the kids they were supposed to be and not worry about saving the world from evil.

Harry looked up at her with a sly smile and Buffy suddenly felt very concerned. That look usually meant that he was up to some mischief. Seconds later she knew exactly what when he kicked at a puddle, sending slightly muddy water flying at her.

Buffy squealed in surprise. That water had been very cold. She narrowed her eyes and glared at her best friend an idea popping into her head. She schooled her features into an innocent expression and jumped right into the puddle he was standing next to. Her feet and jeans were instantly soaked, but more satisfying was the horrified face Harry was pulling. Water dripped down his face and droplets covered his glasses.

"I'll get you for that," Harry half laughed, half growled at her.

With a playful laugh Buffy ran for the Hogs Head with Harry following. She ignored her Slayer speed and let him stay on her heels. This was how it should be. She felt like a normal girl playing with her brother in the mud. Perhaps they were acting a little young for their age, but Harry had missed out on most of his childhood altogether and Buffy knew all to well that she would never have acted like this when she was younger, she'd spent far too much time with her nose in a book.

She reached the door of the Hogs Head and stopped neatly. Unfortunately Harry skidded on a bit of mud and slammed into her. Buffy hit the door and they both went tumbling to the floor of the dingy pub. Harry laughed and picked himself up before reaching a hand down for Buffy. She grinned at him and looked around. The two of them were the centre of attention and Buffy flushed. She pulled out her wand and muttered, "_Scourgify_." Beside her Harry did the same and they were both instantly clean.

Giles entered behind them, a little out of breath and shooting the two teens disapproving looks. Buffy gave him her sweetest smile and headed for the bartender. After a brief conversation he directed her up the stairs to the same parlour where they had met Ethan a month before.

Dumbledore was already seated in the room when she entered, along with Snape. Wordlessly she sat down opposite the DADA teacher without so much as looking at him. Harry and Giles took the other seats as Snape sneered at Harry. Giles looked to Buffy pointedly.

"Oh. Right," she said quickly. "Introductions. Giles this is Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. Professor, I'd like you to meet Rupert Giles, my Watcher." She could see Snape glaring at her from the corner of her eye, but ignored him.

"Yes, Rupert Giles," Snape said forcefully. "We've heard of you."

"You have," Giles said in surprise.

"Of course," Snape said slimily. "You have quite the reputation around London for raising demons." Harry started visibly. Buffy was kicking herself for not mentioning that sooner.

"I can assure you it has been many years," Giles said calmly. "I was young and brash."

"This meeting is a waste if time, Headmaster," said Snape. "This man has nothing to tell us."

"So because he had a bit of a wild youth you think you can't trust him," Buffy demanded. "That's a bit rich coming from you. Personally I don't think we should be trusting ex-Death Eaters, so where does that leave us?"

Snape's eyes widened and he looked angrier than ever, but before he could reply Dumbledore intervened.

"Now, Severus, that is quite enough," he said calmly. "Mr Giles, exactly what is a Watcher?"

Giles turned from Snape, abruptly cutting him out of the conversation. "Buffy has told you of her status as a Slayer?" he enquired politely. "It is a Watcher's duty to train the Slayer, to help her perform her duties. We are, in a way, mentors for whichever girl happens to hold the title."

"I see," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "That is most interesting. One would assume, in that case, that you are an expert on demonology."

"Quite," Giles agreed. "Mostly on vampires as that is what we dealt with most frequently on the Hellmouth, although I am fairly knowledgeable on the subject of wicca. I cannot perform magic myself, however. I believe I am what you call a muggle."

"Yes I had thought as much," Dumbledore nodded serenely. "Now, I believe there was something you wished to discuss with me."

"Surely you are not going to permit these students to remain here while we discuss Order matters," Snape hissed.

"This isn't an Order matter," Buffy said abruptly. "It's a Slayer matter and if I were you I would be quiet, because I'm not convinced you're trustworthy enough to hear this."

Dumbledore held up a hand to stop Snape retorting, but it did not quell Harry's sniggers or admiring look.

"The other Slayer has been turned against us," Giles said in a matter of fact way. "She has been put under an ancient spell that is controlling her body. She has no choice but to do as Voldemort commands."

Snape sniffed derisively. "He is no doubt speaking of the girl that the Dark Lord recently acquired. She is nothing special merely a child he has taken an interest in. She is just a toy."

Buffy stood up, knocking her chair to the ground. "How dare you?"

"The young lady is a Slayer," Giles said. "If she cannot be rescued then we are in serious trouble."

"There is no such thing as a Slayer," Snape snapped. "I have looked into the matter extensively and found nothing."

"Your attitude is getting boring," Buffy yawned theatrically.

"I will not be mocked by an attention seeking little bint," Snape exploded.

Buffy'd had enough. Her hand snapped across the table so fast it was a blur and she grabbed his collar in her fist. Casually, she pulled him up from his seat and towards her to look directly into her eyes. "You're lucky my boyfriend didn't hear that."

Snape's hand fumbled in his robes for his wand. He pulled it out and pointed it at her, but Buffy was ready. She raised her other hand and took hold of his wrist, bending it backwards so the wand was pointing at the ceiling. "Don't threaten me," she said conversationally. "You won't like what happens."

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore began.

"Not now, I'm busy teaching."

"Hermione," Harry tried. "As much as I'm enjoying this are you sure you want to hex a teacher?"

"Whoever said anything about hexing him," Buffy smirked, her eyes still on Snape. "I'm thinking more along the lines of a demonstration on what a Slayer really is."

"I insist you stop this at once," Snape said, looking a little wild around the eyes.

"Why? This wouldn't be necessary if you could just open your eyes and accept what we've been telling you." Effortlessly, Buffy yanked him up further, so his feet left the floor and Harry's eyes widened in awe. Buffy grinned at the man she held in her hands and with negligible effort, threw him across the room.

He landed in a heap in a corner and struggled to rise. "That is just a taste of the power of a Slayer," Buffy said contemptuously.

"I advise you to take her seriously," Giles said as though nothing had happened. "The last thing that underestimated her is nothing more than a memory."

Snape picked himself up and glowered at them. "She is strong, I'll admit, but nothing more than a little girl."

"The Master thought that too," Harry told him. "Yet she's still alive and he's dead."

"She told you that she killed one of the most powerful vampires to have ever existed and you believed her," Snape sneered. "Pathetic, gullible boy."

"It's true," Giles said simply. "I was there when she slew the Master and I watched her shatter his bones with a sledge hammer."

Snape looked from Giles to Buffy. She was smiling innocently at him, not trying to Occlude her mind and could feel him looking through her thoughts. Deliberately she called up her memories of her fight with the Master on the roof of the school, specifically the moment when she had thrown him through the skylight. Snape's eyes were locked with hers for a long moment until he looked away almost fearfully. He glared at the other occupants of the room for a long moment, turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Dumbledore sighed sadly. "I apologise for my colleague. Now, if we could please return to the matter at hand."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: Wow. This is my longest chapter ever. Hope you all enjoy it, it's one of my favourites, especially the bit at the end. If you did enjoy it, please let me know in a review. Thank you all for reading and thanks to those that reviewed.

**Stasa **Yeah, I liked the idea for that reason. It would be too easy to say, 'Oh well, Voldemort has her, but it's ok we'll kill her and everything goes back to normal.' I wanted everyone to understand her a bit better. I really liked the character in the series and was disappointed when she died.

**Lightdemondarkangel** Don't wanna answer that question. You'll have to wait and find out. Hopefully it _will_ be exciting, like with Faith and Buffy.

**Allen Pitt** As always, loving your ideas. Kennedy annoyed me far too much to bring her into it though. I always wanted to strangle her. Nothing from Joyce yet, but she will be around at some point in a couple of chapters. I don't think she's quite excitable enough to be a Molly Weasley, but you never know what the situation will do to her.

**CallaRose4ever** Not telling.

**Blue Dove** Argh! Angel was from Dublin right? So he's from Northern Ireland. I believe that would technically make him British these days, (any Irish people feel free to let me know if I am wrong.) Maybe not back then, I don't know how things stood back then, but I believe these days anyone from Northern Ireland has a British passport and we all live on the British Isles. If there are any Irish people reading this who know for a fact that I am wrong, let me know and I'll change it.

**stupidmonkey** I can't tell you that. Wait and see. I love your name, it rocks! I'm glad you're enjoying it.

**iamkagomeiloveinuyasha** lol. I hope this is soon enough for you. I would feel sorry for you, but as I won't be going on a cruise and you will be I think I'll settle for envy instead. Good luck and have fun! I'm sure it won't be like the Titanic.

**JessAngelus** Please read what I wrote to Blue Dove. Like I said, I might be wrong, but I'm pretty certain that anyone from Northen Ireland is considered British. The same as the Welsh students I went to school with and my ex-boyfriend who was Scottish, all of whom considered themselves to be British. I'm pretty sure that Angel and Buffy first confessed their love for each other on Buffy's seventeenth and as this is just after that, they're right on schedule.

**SOAP** Thank you. Don't worry, I'm not bothered. One of his points was actually pretty accurate and I hadn't realised I'd done it, but the rest would probably have been resolved if he'd kept on reading. As he stopped after chapter three, I'm just gonna ignore it for the most part.

Thanks also to **Silent Me, babytigercub15 **and **Krycek's Immortal Slayer.**

Dozy.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20.

The following Monday Buffy was met with a strange sight as she wandered into the Great Hall for breakfast. About half the school's population of girls was glaring at her as if she'd just insulted them personally. Buffy gazed at them, trying to appear unruffled, but the looks were unsettling. She made her way to the Gryffindor table, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"What's going on?" she demanded of Ginny.

The redheaded witch was biting her lower lip. "What happened on Saturday when you went to meet Dumbledore?"

Buffy raised her eyebrows. That had been the last thing she expected to be asked. "I told you," she said in a low voice, so no one could overhear. "We met him at the Hogs Head. I threw Snape across the room and we told Dumbledore about Kendra. Then we came back to you guys."

"What about on the way to the Hogs Head?" Ginny asked.

Buffy shook her head in confusion. "I don't know what you mean," she said honestly.

Ginny thrust something into her hands. Buffy looked down to see an issue of _Witch Weekly_. Confused, she opened it, looking for whatever would make Ginny act like this.

She found it on page fifteen. A picture of her running with Harry on her heels filled an entire page. They were both laughing, their cheeks were flushed and they were covered in mud. On the opposite page was an article, which read:

'**Harry Potter in Love.'**

Harry Potter, the Chosen One, Boy-Who-Lived and our hero has been bitten by the love bug. Who is the lucky girl, you may ask. Seventeen-year-old Hermione Granger is the young lady who has captured Harry's heart and not for the first time. These two were rumoured to be seeing one another during the Triwizard Tournament two years ago until Hermione broke it off when she disappeared not even a year later.

_The two lovebirds were spotted in Hogsmeade together this weekend, enjoying some time together. The two are reported to be very close and share a very playful relationship, as is evidenced by the picture opposite._

Buffy glared at the offending article for a long moment before throwing it aside. It went on to speculate on their non-existent love affair and wondered when they would be hearing wedding bells. It also offered condolences to all the teenage girls who had been hoping to get close to Harry as he was now well and truly taken.

"You can't honestly believe a word of that," Buffy said incredulously.

"It's not true?" Ginny said hopefully.

"Of course not," Buffy exclaimed. "Sure, I love Harry, but he's like a brother to me. He's my best friend. He is not now, nor will he ever be, my boyfriend. I'm in love with Angel! You know that."

Ginny seemed to think about it for a while before nodding enthusiastically. "You're right. I'm sorry. I jumped to conclusions."

"Harry and I were just playing," Buffy assured her. "It means nothing, except that we're _friends._"

Ginny flushed slightly. "Ok. I get it. I don't know what I was thinking."

Harry and Ron came in a few minutes later and his reaction was about what Buffy expected of him. "What? We're not… I mean…Argh!" He banged his head against the table with a thunk.

"Just ignore it," Buffy advised. "It'll blow over in a couple of days, just like fourth year."

"And in the meantime I get to have everyone staring at me," Harry said moodily. "Why does everything always happen to me?"

"Self involved much?" Buffy said in mild annoyance. "Did you forget me? Your supposed love interest?"

"Oh. Sorry." With that Harry folded his arms on the table and rested his head on them.

"It's ok. And don't worry about what people think all the time. It'll turn you grey." Fondly, Buffy reached out and tousled his hair, making it stick up even more.

Harry reached out without looking up and swatted her hand away. He muttered something into the table, but Buffy couldn't hear what.

"Um, you two aren't going out are you?" Ron asked hesitantly.

"No," Buffy said, slightly tired with this conversation already.

"But then, why did you…?"

"What? Mess up his hair?" Buffy said slowly, wondering what Ron was getting at.

"Yeah," Ron said.

"Harry, how do you fell about people messing with your hair?" Buffy asked, already knowing the answer.

"It irritates me," he said, lifting his head from the table.

"Exactly," Buffy said, looking pointedly at Ron. "As Harry's honorary big sister it is my duty to irritate him as much as possible. I can't think of a better way to do that."

"You don't do that to me," Ron said. Buffy wasn't sure if he sounded hurt or relieved about that.

"Of course not," Buffy said dismissively. "You have Ginny for that."

Ginny grinned wickedly at her older brother. "It's a duty I'm happy to perform for all my brothers."

"Ginny could do Harry, too."

Sometimes Buffy couldn't believe how clueless Ron was. She felt like banging her head against the table just as Harry had earlier. She was glad she didn't, however, or she would have missed both Harry and Ginny turning a bright scarlet colour and carefully avoiding one another's eyes.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The rest of February slipped into a pattern of library sessions, classes, homework and practising in the Room of Requirement. Snape spent most of his time glaring at Buffy, but didn't actually do anything… yet. Buffy assumed he was still fuming about being thrown bodily across a room and struggling to understand what he had seen in her mind afterwards.

The weather began to get a bit dryer as spring approached, much to the relief of the Quidditch teams. The first Saturday of March was occupied by the Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff match, which Gryffindor won 200-40. It had been a close match until Harry had caught the snitch, partly due to Ron saving so many goals and Buffy was forced to admit that Ron had improved a great deal since his first disastrous game in fifth year.

Malfoy accosted Buffy one evening when she was returning to the Gryffindor common room from the library. She was surprised because he'd left her alone since the twins had almost caught him and she had happily assumed that he had given up.

"I thought Potter was just your friend," he said, trying to sound casual as he leaned against the wall of the corridor they were in.

Buffy sighed disconsolately. This was all she'd been hearing since the article came out. "We _are_ just friends," she said. "Not that it's any of your business."

"I don't believe you," he said haltingly. "You two are always together."

"Yes we are," Buffy didn't see the point in denying it. "You and Parkinson are always together, too. Does that mean you're dating her?"

Malfoy made a disgusted face.

"I didn't think so," Buffy said lightly and walked away. Malfoy made no attempt to stop her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Away from Hogwarts things were relatively quiet. As far as Buffy knew Kendra had not yet participated in any attacks although reports of Death Eater raids did occasionally make it into the papers. Usually the victims were either killed or tortured with magic and Buffy never saw any signs that pointed to Kendra's presence. Buffy hadn't had another shared dream with her fellow Slayer since the night Kendra was taken and chose to take that as a sign that nothing had happened so far.

Willow and Xander, although homesick, were adjusting well to life in Scotland. Willow's wiccan skills were improving with leaps and bounds and Xander was enjoying the lack of school. They both complained about the weather, having spent most of their lives in southern California, but otherwise enjoyed their stay. Willow and Ms Calendar frequently took Giles' car –if it could be called that- to a nearby muggle town so that Willow could hook up her laptop and e-mail her parents. Xander accompanied then once, but decided that it was too much hassle after his parents' minimal and unfriendly reply.

Ms Calendar- who insisted they call her Jenny now she wasn't their teacher- had spent a couple of days engaged in the usual flirtation she enjoyed with Giles before deciding to move their relationship on. Buffy really didn't want to think about any of the adults in her life being intimate, so she didn't ask any questions when she noticed that Jenny's things were now in Giles' room.

Joyce had been the most difficult of the four. She fretted constantly about her gallery, going so far as to ask if she could return there during business hours and only spend the nights here. A long argument had ensued between mother and daughter when Buffy told her unequivocally that it was too dangerous and would _not_ be happening. She had tried appealing to Giles and Jenny, but both had supported Buffy and so Joyce had resigned herself to staying here. She didn't seem to accept anything that either Giles or Buffy told her about Slayers and avoided any conversations on the subject. Buffy had decided to leave her alone for now. The whole thing had come as quite a shock to the older woman and she needed time to let it all sink in. Joyce refused to help with the research on the Watchers Diaries as they reminded her of the Slayer topic, but did consent to helping Willow look through spell books. She had accepted the existence of witches long ago and felt able to put aside her dislike of it to feel useful. She had also taken to being the lady of the house, doing all the cooking and cleaning to avoid the others and was currently mothering Willow and Xander to death in her own daughters absence. As neither one had ever had a mother in the traditional sense they seemed to enjoy her attention so Buffy let it go, she was quite happy to share her mom with two of her best friends.

The weekend after the Quidditch match Buffy was at Giles' house. She spent more time there than any of her other friends from Hogwarts so she could spend time with her other friends, boyfriend, mother and Watcher and so she could get some training in.

Buffy came out of the training room with Angel and slumped into a seat next to Xander at the library table. Jenny and Giles sat on one side, opposite Willow and Xander. Books were scattered about and next to each person was a pad of paper covered in notes. Buffy looked over at Xander who was currently doodling a monster of some kind. She grinned and left him to it as Angel sat opposite her. In the centre of the table was an almost empty plate of brownies, courtesy of Joyce. Happily Buffy reached out and snagged one; her mother's brownies were the best.

As Buffy glanced around the table she realised she should probably help and reached for a book. Xander immediately smacked her hand away. Buffy narrowed her eyes at him, until she realised he was going for the last brownie. It was a bad idea to get between Xander and food, especially snack foods in the middle of a Scooby meeting.

"Hermione Granger," a voice called from her pocket.

Buffy frowned and pulled out her mirror, snapping it open. "Tonks? What's up?"

The metamorphmagus was excited by something. "I did it!" she squealed.

"Did what?"

"I've got you clearance into the Department of Mysteries," she said. "Well, actually I've gotten a way through the system. We're not allowed to let anyone know you were even there."

"Come again."

Tonks took a deep breath. "I spoke to Croaker. He's an Unspeakable. You said that I could tell him about you if it became necessary and, well, I had to. He wants to meet you, eventually."

"That's great, Tonks. Can he get Giles and I in?"

"If it was just you, it wouldn't be a problem," Tonks said, but she was grinning so Buffy wasn't worried. "But Giles is a muggle so we're going to have to be a little bit more subtle. Not even the other Unspeakables can know we're going to the Department of Mysteries. Access has been completely restricted since Voldemort and the Death Eaters were spotted there."

Buffy sighed. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Don't worry, Hermione, we've got it all planned out."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I can't believe you think this plan is subtle," Buffy said irritably. "It's about as subtle as smashing Snape in the head with a table."

"Come on, it'll be fun," Tonks said with a grin.

"Perhaps a bit less chat would be a good idea," Giles suggested.

It was late and they were in an empty alleyway in London. The three of them were dressed in muggle clothes and Buffy and Giles were wearing disguises. Giles' eyes had been fixed by a spell that only worked temporarily, his hair had been turned completely grey and the hairline had been receded to make him look older. Tonks had managed to give him wrinkles that wouldn't look out of place on a sixty year old man and Buffy had to admit the effect was superb, if she didn't know who he was she didn't think she would recognise him. Buffy herself had charmed her hair to be as black as Harry's. She'd been tempted to go red, but such a distinctive colour might make people suspect she was a Weasley and they didn't want that. She had also made her eyes a deep blue and Tonks had taught her a nifty charm that made her skin darker. Willow had helped by putting a glamour on her nose to make it look longer. Buffy doubted that anyone would recognise her anyway, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Tonks directed them into a phone booth and followed them in, closing the door firmly behind her. Wordlessly, she reached across Giles and removed the handset, dialling some numbers before replacing it. Buffy jumped as a woman's voice echoed around the booth.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."

"Auror Tonks," Tonks said briskly. "Escort duty for Jane Winters and Roland Jeeves, guests of Mr Croaker."

Buffy smiled at the names Tonks had made up for them, while Giles gave her a withering stare.

"Thank you," the voice said. "Visitors, please take the badges and attach them to the front of your robes."

Two badges popped out of the coin slot and Buffy took them, handing one to Giles and pinning the other to her robes. She glanced at Giles as he did the same and read _Roland Jeeves, guest of Mr Croaker._

Buffy barely listened as the voice instructed them to turn their wands over to the watch wizard and the phone box came to life that slowly disappeared underground. Tonks had warned her what to expect so it wasn't really a surprise.

As they travelled downward Tonks turned to them. "No matter what, don't say anything until we are in the lift. Let me do all the talking."

Buffy nodded in agreement as they arrived into the brightly lit atrium. The voice wished them a good day and the door opened. As she stepped out, Buffy took the opportunity to look around her. The hall they were in was very long, with a wooden floor and blue ceiling. Fireplaces were spaced along both sides, although none were being used at this time of night. In the centre of the hall was a circular pool of water surrounded by low golden walls. Buffy guessed this had been the statue that was destroyed the night Harry faced Voldemort here. From Harry's description of it she was glad that it hadn't been rebuilt. She might have been tempted to tear it down again.

Lift doors, all currently closed occupied the far wall. Halfway between those doors and the fountain was a desk with a grumpy looking wizard seated behind it. He looked up expectantly as they entered and watched them closely as they approached.

"Wands please," he said in a bored tone.

"We don't have time for that," Tonks said imperiously. "I'm escorting some very distinguished guests to see Mr Croaker. They aren't to be bothered by wand inspections." 

"Every guest to the Ministry of Magic must have their wand examined," the watch wizard said, slightly more alert now. His eyes scanned their badges, taking in the names and reason for their visit.

"Except for those that are here for confidential business with the Unspeakables," Tonks stated.

"I must do my job," the guard said officiously, reminding Buffy of Percy Weasley. "No exceptions. Anyone passing this gate must be checked through me."

"Fine then. We'll summon Croaker down here and you can explain to him exactly why you haven't let these guests through, as per his instructions."

The guard paled dramatically. "You'd call _him_ down here?"

"Do I have to?" Tonks asked dangerously.

"You're not actually taking them to the Department of Mysteries itself are you?" the guard said worriedly. "They're just here to meet Croaker."

"That's right," Tonks lied easily. "I'm taking them up to the offices on the second level where they will conduct the meeting in private."

The guard bit his lip for a moment. "All right then," he said at last. "As long as you're not taking them down there. You wouldn't be able to anyway. No one goes in there except for Unspeakables and they've got security so tight down there since those kids got in last summer. You couldn't get in if you tried."

"Yes, yes, I know all about that," Tonks said dismissively. "I don't need to tell you how important this meeting is, do I? Or how imperative it is that the presence of Mr Croaker's guests remains a secret. I'd hate to see how Croaker would react if it got out that this meeting took place."

The guard shook his head quickly, suddenly afraid to speak.

Tonks nodded to him and turned on her heel without another word. She led her two companions to the lifts and pressed the call button. Loudly, so the guard could hear, she said, "I'm dreadfully sorry for the delay Sir, Ma'am. I know how important this meeting is, but due to the secrecy of the matter we were unable to inform the guards that you were coming." The lift nearest them opened and they all stepped in. Tonks pressed a button, still speaking. "I'm sure Mr Croaker will punish the man severely for interfering with such an important…"

The door closed and Tonks trailed off. "There. Now he's cowering in his boots because he thinks he Unspeakables are coming for him."

"Was that really necessary?" Giles asked in a resigned tone.

"Yes," Tonks chirped as the doors opened again, the female voice from the telephone booth announcing their arrival at the Department of Mysteries.

They were in a long corridor with a set of black doors at the far end. Flickering torches lined the walls reminding Buffy of some of the nicer crypts she'd seen.

"Right. It's your turn, Hermione," Tonks said almost cheerfully.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "If I didn't know better I'd think you were enjoying this."

Buffy pulled off her robes and threw them at Tonks as she began to walk as casually as possible down the corridor, alone all the while muttering about clumsy Aurors and their subtle plans. Underneath her robes she was wearing a figure hugging black dress that came to just above her knees and a slinky pair of sandals. She felt very exposed and was tempted to pull her wand out, but remembered what Tonks had told her earlier. Ever since the fiasco with Harry and the others the warding down here had gotten much harder to circumvent. Any use of magic by an unregistered person automatically set off a series of alarms and the only people registered worked in the Department of Mysteries. If either Buffy or Tonks were to cast a single spell they would end up on the wrong end of some unfriendly wands.

Buffy opened the door at the end. Fortunately it was unlocked or they would have been completely stuck. She walked straight into a circular room with a number of doors leading off it. A man stood in the centre of the room, his wand in hand and pointed it at her. "Hi," she said happily, her widest smile in place.

"You're in a restricted area, Miss," the man said harshly.

"Oh, really?" she gasped. "I didn't know. I'm looking for the Department of International Co-operation. Where is that?"

"Level Five," he said.

Buffy giggled inanely and flipped her hair over one shoulder. The ditz act came easily now, though she noted that it was much simpler to do as a blonde. "How do I get there?"

"What game are you playing, Miss?" he asked her, annoyed.

"No game," she said innocently, twirling a lock of hair around a finger. "I'm just a little lost."

The man visibly relaxed and stepped towards her. "Get back on the lift at the other end of the corridor and press the button with a five on it. That'll take you there."

"Oh, thank you, thank you," Buffy gushed, also stepping forwards. He just needed to be a little closer. "How can I possibly repay you?"

The man smirked and took another step. "I don't think it would be too hard to think of something."

He reached a hand out, as though to touch her and Buffy moved. She grabbed his wrist, stepped back and yanked his arm behind his back, pushing him against the wall.

"Sorry," Buffy said angrily, spinning him around to face her. "I'm not that kind of girl." She punched him in the face, feeling his nose shatter under her fist and he slumped in her arms. Buffy lowered him to the floor and checked him quickly. A Healer could patch him up in no time.

She went quickly to the door and beckoned to Tonks and Giles to join her. "Ok what now?" she asked impatiently, putting her robes back on.

"We look for the door that Croaker marked earlier," Tonks said.

"Explain to me why we didn't just have this Croaker get the prophecy to us," said Giles.

"You can only remove a prophecy from the Hall of Prophecies if it's about you," Tonks explained. "If Croaker tried it he'd go straight to St Mungo's."

"So we'd better hope we're not wrong about this prophecy, or I'll be out of commission for a while," Buffy said lightly.

"Found it," Tonks announced, opening the door she was standing by. "Come on."

They followed her into a second room full of clocks. Every available space was full of clocks and bookshelves. Buffy guessed that this was the time turner room Harry had told her about. The room was unoccupied, as they had been told it would be so they passed through quickly.

Unfortunately the door on the other end of the room was locked. "Damn," Tonks muttered. "He said he would make sure all the doors were open for us."

Buffy took a step back, gesturing for Tonks and Giles to get out of her way. They complied just as Buffy raised her leg and kicked the door down.

The loud crash was unfortunate, but couldn't be helped. Buffy led the way into the Hall of Prophecy, a huge room, filled with shelf after shelf of glass orbs. Each orb sat above a label with the initials of the seer and the person who heard the prophecy and the names of the people the prophecy was about.

"Row sixty-nine," Tonks said, directing them to the right.

They headed down the end of the rows until they reached the right one and then walked in silence down the aisle. They each took a section and hurriedly looked for the orb they had come for. Buffy couldn't stop thinking of the night her friends had come here and faced the Death Eaters. Not for the first time she wished she had been there for them.

"Buffy," Giles called quietly after they had been searching for about ten minutes. "I think I've found it."

Buffy and Tonks ran to his side. He was looking at a shelf at knee height, so Buffy crouched down for a closer look. The white label read:

C.D.T to R.W. III

Witch-Born Slayer?

Dark Lord

Underneath that was written a date, showing it was given about one hundred and fifty years before. This had to be it, right?

After a reassuring smile from Tonks and a worried look from Giles, Buffy nervously stretched out her hand. Her eyes were clenched shut, waiting for some horrible curse to hit as she touched the orb. Her hand closed around it and she opened her eyes. Nothing had happened!

Sighing in relief Buffy brought the orb up close to her face and examined it. It would be opaque once it was cleaned up a bit and looked fairly pretty. Buffy hoped that it didn't have to be destroyed for them to hear the prophecy, it would make a great paperweight.

"Come on, let's get out of here, before we're caught," she said, standing up.

They wasted no time in heading back the way they came, through the clock room and into the circular room where the man Buffy had knocked out still lay. Buffy was walking towards the only other open door when she stopped suddenly. What was that? A shiver ran up her spine and she could hear voices whispering to her. They seemed dangerous somehow. Buffy got the feeling they were the voices of people that didn't like her very much. No. That was wrong. They cared for her deeply. She could feel it.

Glancing around, Buffy focussed on one of the doors. There was nothing special about it, as far as she could tell, but she felt drawn to it. Almost as though she were in a dream she went towards it and pulled it open.

"Buffy, what ever are you doing?" a voice murmured at her, but she ignored it. Something was drawing her in.

On the other side of the door was another circular room. Steps led downward to the centre where a giant arch stood. A veil hung from it, fluttering in an unfelt breeze. Buffy's gaze was fixed upon it as she gently descended. The voices were much louder from in here. She almost felt as if she recognised some of them, although she still couldn't distinguish words.

A hand grabbed her arm. "We don't have time for this," someone said desperately. "Come on Hermione."

Buffy absently brushed them off and continued toward the veil. Music seemed to accompany the voices, gentle and melodious. She hummed slightly under her breath.

"Slayer," a voice hissed. Buffy knew it came from behind the veil. She wondered who it was.

"Come to us, little one," the voice whispered. "We'll dance together for eternity."

"Lothos," Buffy smiled and stepped up onto the dais around the veil.

Another voice echoed in her mind. "You belong with us, Slayer."

"Are you the Master?" Buffy questioned. She felt the need to step through. Part of her was screaming for her to stop, but she ignored it. She felt waves of loves crashing into her from the other side and as urge to see where the veil led.

"Buffy," a new voice said from behind her. It was a voice that meant more to Buffy than any other. She spun, shaken from her daydream by this new person.

"Angel?" she murmured.

He came forward and took her arm. "Yes. It's me. We have to get out of here. Follow me."

Buffy nodded but stopped as soon as she heard yet another voice emerging from the veil. This one was female and one Buffy knew quite well. "He's lying, you know."

"What?" Buffy stared at the fluttering veil.

"I knew him better than anyone. We were together for over a hundred years. He doesn't love you."

Something stirred deep within Buffy. "He does."

"How could he love you, little girl? You're nothing to him. Come to us and you will see what love truly is." The promise was alluring, especially when combined with the feelings still emanating from the veil.

Buffy reached a hand towards it. Her heart was beating faster. She could hear someone calling her name. Something about this voice was different. It was as though she knew the speaker much better than she knew the others. It was someone who had protected her in the past. The only person she had trusted at one point. "No," she whispered. "You're lying," and dropped her hand.

Suddenly she was pulled around to face Angel again and he yanked her into his arms. Buffy steadied herself by placing her hands on his shoulders. She looked up at him, feeling a little bewildered. Surely Angel was taller than this normally. "What's going on?" she asked, her head felt a little clearer now, but she was still feeling light headed.

"Let's get you out of here," he said impatiently. "We can talk about it later."

Buffy allowed herself to be led away. "You're not Angel."

"No, I'm not."

"Tonks?" Buffy queried as they re-entered the circular room at the top of the steps.

The figure by her side shifted. Angel's hair lightened and became blue, he shrunk to just an inch or so taller than Buffy and his shoulders became slimmer. Seconds later a grinning Tonks peered at her.

"That was really strange," she said seriously. "It was like you were talking to someone, but no one was there."

"You didn't hear them?" Buffy asked in confusion.

"I just heard you," she said worriedly.

"Perhaps we could talk about this after we make our great escape, hmm," Giles suggested.

"Right," Tonks agreed and headed to the exit. As she passed the still unconscious man he groaned. Without pausing Tonks grabbed his hair in her fist and slammed his face into the floor. Buffy winced at the sound it made, but followed Tonks out the door without checking him. She wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible after what happened in the Death Room, the whole experience had really freaked her out.

Not one minute later the lift door to the Atrium opened and Tonks stepped out with Buffy and Giles directly behind her. As they passed the watch wizard Tonks waved at him cheerily. "Croaker sends his best," she called over her shoulder, none of them missing the horrified look on the guard's face.

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They made it back to Giles' house just a few minutes later. Buffy sat down next to Angel, instantly feeling more relaxed when he put an arm around her shoulders. With her head against his chest she almost felt like falling into a deep sleep.

"Did you get it?" he asked and Buffy could hear his voice rumbling in his chest.

"Yup," Tonks said triumphantly.

"Yes," Giles concurred. "I have never been part of a plan so unnecessarily convoluted in my life, but I must admit it was successful."

"I told you, _it was_ necessary," Tonks whined.

"Really?" Giles said. "I don't see why we couldn't just get this Croaker chap to take us down there himself."

"It's simple," Tonks said. "You didn't have access to go down there. _I _don't even have that kind of access. I managed to get you past the Watch Wizard with my badge and a threat, but it wouldn't have gotten us down there and wouldn't have worked if we didn't have Croaker in place to back us up."

"When the guard Buffy knocked out reports this they're sure to check who entered the building at that time. Surely they'll know we didn't really go to a meeting. They'll know it was you at least, because you showed them your badge."

"Croaker was holding an interview room on Level Two and put an illusion spell on the door to make it look like he was talking to us. He made sure there were witnesses and everything," Tonks said dismissively.

"He got a very good look at Buffy," Giles insisted.

"Yes, he did," Tonks agreed. "And as soon as he wakes up, he'll go report the girl with_ black _hair to his head of department. Croaker."

Giles stared at her in disbelief.

"And Croaker will assure the guard that they will get to the bottom of it, have him fill out all the necessary paperwork and promise to work on it personally," Tonks grinned. "As this is the second time that the Department has been broken into in less than a year, he will request that the guard not speak to anyone about it, to save the Ministry some embarrassment. He will also point out that as this is an official investigation he is forbidden to speak about it anyway. He will then ensure that all the paperwork gets conveniently lost and the incident will be forgotten over time."

"Bravo!" Buffy grinned, clapping. The surprised look on Giles' face was priceless.

"So," Angel said, his arm still around Buffy. "Let's hear what this prophecy has to say."

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A/N: Yay! Another chapter finished and one I really enjoyed writing at that. Hope you had as much fun reading as I did writing. Please don't forget to review.

**JessAngelus** He's a Galway boy is he? Could've sworn he was from Dublin. I'll go back and change that line at some point. Why do you like the Irish so much? Is it just because of Angel? Or do you like the accent? Gotta admit it is kinda sexy. I like playful Harry too. He's way more fun than broody Harry. Giles is great for Harry because he gives Harry what he needs. Instead of trying to protect Harry he's giving Harry what e needs to protect himself. Giles understands kids like Harry and Buffy better than Dumbledore ever will.

**Allen Pitt** It turns out Angel is from Galway so he wouldn't be British, but even if he was from Dublin like I thought he could be Irish _and_ British, like I am both British and English. Kendra will be doing some damage soon or else what was the point in Voldemort going to all the trouble of getting her? I don't want to say too much about Willow. I'm hoping the clues I've been placing aren't too obvious, but she will be doing the major mojo at some point.

**MirrorEarths** I'm very flattered to be getting your first review. Thanks! Snape POV eh? Don't think I could write that convincingly. Don't worry, Snape is sure to let us know what he's thinking at some point. You're right, he probably thinks more fondly of _Harry_ than he does Buffy right now.

Thank you to everyone else that reviewed as well. Everyone seems to be feeling very blood thirsty towards Snape. I promise he _will _get his comeuppance. Until then…

Dozy.


	21. Chapter 21

**I haven't disclaimed for a while, so here it is. Harry Potter belongs to JKR and Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon. As I am neither of those people I can cheerfully say that I own nothing of value.**

Chapter 21.

_The Witch-Born Slayer will arrive with the second rising of a Dark Lord greater and more terrible than any before him… She will be but one half of a whole…Her gift will protect her, but the mirror image will fail… She must conquer her gift if she is to save the reflection or all will fall to darkness and despair…The Chosen must unite if the war is to end._

Buffy stared at the figure of a woman standing in the centre of the library. She floated inches above the orb, which housed the prophecy, her large eyes staring vacantly ahead and her long, dark hair blowing in a wind that only she could feel. Behind the figure Giles was rapidly writing down her words, a frown on his face.

Angel was staring at the woman in gob-smacked awe. Buffy scowled irritably.

"So we went to all this trouble to find out that Drusilla of all people gave my prophecy," she exclaimed. "If we'd known that we could have just asked Spike. It would have saved us a whole lot of time."

"I doubt she would remember it," Angel shrugged. His eyes were still fixed to the spot where the figure had stood, even though Tonks had ended the spell that allowed them to see and hear the recording without smashing the orb. "We ran together for a long time and she never mentioned making a prophecy about a Slayer."

"Trelawney forgot the prophecy she made in third year," Harry said quietly. "She thought she'd just dozed off."

"As disquieting as this is," Giles began, but Ron interrupted.

"Do you know who heard the prophecy?"

"It said RW III," Tonks said promptly.

"Richard Wilkins the Third?" Willow said hesitantly.

"Yeah, Will. I'm sure the Mayor of Sunnydale was around over a hundred years ago when this thing was made," Xander said sarcastically. "Hey! Maybe he's a vampire."

"Perhaps we could get back to the task at hand," Giles said exasperatedly. "Whoever heard the prophecy is largely irrelevant. I suspect whoever he is, he is long dead now." He glanced down at the notepad in front of him and read the prophecy aloud.

"The Dark Lord has to be Voldemort right?" Willow queried. "Buffy became the Slayer during the Tournament. That's when he was trying to come back isn't it?"

That's pretty unspecific, though," Ron mused. "There have been two Dark Lord's since the prophecy was made that we know about. It could have meant either one of them."

"Not really," Harry disagreed. "When Trelawney gave that prophecy about Voldemort and Pettigrew she said he would rise, 'greater and more terrible than ever before.'" He peeked over Giles' shoulder at his notes. "That's the exact same wording as this prophecy. That can't be a coincidence."

"Buffy doesn't believe in coincidences," Xander said with a grin. "Or leprechauns. Gotta agree about the coincidences."

Harry and Ron both grinned at each other and turned to Buffy, who was looking a little sheepish. "Did you forget about the World Cup?" Ron asked, laughing. "The little beggars were everywhere, throwing their gold about. Don't you remember?"

"Maybe it's not the leprechauns she was trying to forget, Ron," Ginny suggested. "Maybe it was the star of the game."

"Ok, that's enough," Buffy said desperately. "We don't need to get into a discussion on Quidditch stars."

"You mean they're real?" Xander was wide eyed and Willow wasn't much better.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Yes, they're real. They're kinda cute actually. They're also really generous with their gold, but if you ever come across any spend it quickly. It fades by the next morning."

"Personally, I'm more interested in the Quidditch star aspect of this conversation," Angel said quietly.

Buffy groaned, but before she could answer Ginny cut in. "Viktor Krum was the Bulgarian Seeker for that game and the Durmstrang Champion in the Tournament," she told him. "He was quite smitten with our Hermione. Spent hours in the library staring at her before he worked up the nerve to ask her to the Yule Ball."

Buffy felt like smacking Ginny. Did she really have to say that to her boyfriend who had jealous tendencies? She was relieved to find Angel smiling lightly though.

"It was nothing," she said reassuringly. "We went to the Ball together and he asked me to visit him over the summer, which I never did by the way. By the time summer came I was too busy with Slayer stuff and the Order to even really consider it."

"You're forgetting that you were also the 'thing he'd miss most,' for the second task," Ginny added impishly.

"Ginny, _shut up,_" Buffy said venomously.

"Yes, I think perhaps this discussion has wandered a little off topic," Giles suggested. "Let's get back on track shall we?"

"Yes!" Buffy agreed quickly, wanting to change the subject as quickly as possible.

"What about the 'half of a whole' part?" Angel asked. He too, seemed keen to steer the conversation to safer topics.

"Kendra," Buffy murmured. "Two Slayers, two halves. There should only be one of us, one _whole_ Slayer, but instead there are two."

"Does that mean you each have only half of a Slayer's power?" Willow said worriedly.

Buffy shook her head. "I don't think so. That would mean I was weaker than I was before. If anything, when Xander revived me I felt stronger, more powerful. I think it just means that we are equal."

"That would make sense," Giles said, nodding. "As I assume the references to a mirror image are also about Kendra."

"It's telling me to save her," Buffy said softly. "As if I weren't trying to do that anyway."

"'Or all will fall to darkness and despair,'" Giles quoted. "Yes, that's very clear. We must find a way to rescue her. Willow, how is your research coming?"

"Slowly," Willow said. "I don't know what spell was used last time this happened. I can't find any reference to it at all." She noticed Buffy's downcast face and made an obvious effort to appear more upbeat. "We'll find it though. I expect a major break through any day now."

Buffy tried to smile at her, but found it difficult. There had to be a way to break the spell. There was no way she was leaving her sister Slayer to suffer at Voldemort's hands. If it came to it she would capture Ethan and hit him with all her Slayer strength until he told her how to break the spell.

Tonks' wand glowed yellow suddenly and everyone looked up to see a worried expression on her face. "I'm being called in," she said anxiously.

"Do you think it's about the break in?" Buffy asked.

"I doubt it. I'd better go and check it out though." Tonks nodded to them all and left quickly. Moments later Buffy could hear the telltale sound of her disapparating.

"So what does the part about the chosen mean?" Ginny asked with a cautious glance at Harry. "Who are they?"

"Buffy and Kendra," Xander announced as though it were obvious. "They are the Chosen Ones after all."

Harry appeared startled. "What?"

"The Slayer is also known as the Chosen One," Giles said distractedly. "One girl in all the world, a Chosen One. It stands to reason that the prophecy means the Chosen Two. It's telling Buffy to save Kendra so they can work together to defeat Voldemort."

"But that's Harry's job," Ron objected.

"It might mean Harry, too," Buffy said thoughtfully. "The _Daily Prophet_ has been calling _you_ the Chosen One lately. Maybe it means all three of us need to work together."

"What's the gift though?" asked Willow. "Buffy has a gift, other than being the Slayer or a witch that is going to help her out."

"I don't know," Buffy admitted. "Kendra mentioned a gift to me in one of our shared dreams. She didn't say what it was though."

"What exactly did she say?" Giles asked quickly. "Her exact words if possible."

"She said to find it. That anything was possible. That means that it's something I don't have yet."

"Not necessarily," Giles disagreed. "It may just be something you have yet to acknowledge about yourself. Buffy, I want you to think about this, see if you can come up with any possibilities. And if you have another dream with Kendra ask her about it. She may know more than she's letting on."

Willow was reading through Giles' notes. "The wording implies that whatever this gift is will protect you from the curse that Kendra is under. It might be the means to breaking the spell on her."

Giles took the notepad from her and reread the prophecy again. "Well done, Willow. This gift is clearly something that Kendra does not have. Neither did the first Slayer who fell to this curse."

"There you go, Buff," Xander said jovially. "What do you have that Kendra doesn't?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "We could be here all night. Kendra didn't have a whole lot."

"Love."

Everyone turned abruptly to Angel. He was staring up at Buffy with smiling eyes. "You have our love, Buffy. We all love you and you love us in return. That's something Slayer's generally don't have. Kendra certainly has never had it."

Harry gasped. "Dumbledore keeps telling me that the 'power the Dark Lord knows not' is love. I thought he was being sentimental, but what if he's right? Is there a branch of magic that focuses on love?"

"Nothing that I have ever seen," Giles said slowly.

"But that doesn't mean it's not out there," Willow said positively. "And if it is, we'll find it."

Buffy smiled at her. She had this way of looking at the world that made you think that it couldn't possibly be that bad.

"Right then," Giles said loudly. "I believe that is all. We can discuss this more at a later date."

Everyone started picking up their things and preparing to leave, but Giles called Buffy back.

Angel kissed her quickly and left to find something to eat. Willow and Xander both wished them goodnight and headed off to bed, leaving Buffy alone with Giles and her Hogwarts friends.

"Do you want us to leave?" Ron asked hesitantly.

Buffy shrugged, looking to Giles. He smiled at them. "This is not a private conversation, I just thought everyone was stressed enough and that it was time to call it a night. You are, of course, welcome to stay." He turned to Buffy and put a hand on her shoulder. "I wanted to speak with you about what happened at the Ministry."

"Oh," was all Buffy could say.

"What happened?" Harry asked curiously.

"I'm not really sure," Buffy admitted. "I was heading out when I heard these voices. I followed them and there was this veil. I wanted to step through it. It was so weird." She suddenly noticed the horrified look on Harry's face and asked, "do you know what that was?"

Harry nodded. "You remember I said that Sirius died fighting Bellatrix Lestrange down there? That's how he died. He fell through the arch." There was a hitch in Harry's voice that made her heart ache.

"What is the arch?" Giles asked.

"It was used as a way to execute convicts," Ginny said quietly. "They were forced through and when they didn't come back it was assumed they were dead."

"Assumed?" Giles asked quickly.

"Well, no one can know for certain," Ginny said timidly, watching Harry's face for signs that he was distressed. "Some people think that the voices they can hear belong to the dead."

"I didn't hear anything," Ron said dismissively.

"I didn't either," Ginny admitted. "It made me feel a bit uneasy, but I couldn't hear anything. Harry did though."

"Not what they were saying," Harry agreed slowly. "I could make out individual voices, but not words."

"Who else was with you?" Buffy asked suddenly. "Neville and Luna right? Could they hear voices?"

"Luna definitely did," Harry said at once. "She told me so. I think Neville did too."

"Why did three of you hear the voices and not the other two?" Giles wondered out loud. "Something you three have in common perhaps, that the others don't share."

"All three of them can see Thestrals," Ron blurted. "Ginny and I can't."

"Thestrals," Giles looked very interested at this. "What are those?"

"Winged horses," Buffy said immediately. "Hogwarts has the biggest herd of trained Thestrals in the world. They have an excellent sense of direction and can find pretty much any place they're asked to. They're completely invisible to anyone who hasn't seen someone die."

Giles blinked at her, but the three teenagers just nodded, used to her knowing these things. "It's possible that the connection they have with death is the reason they heard the voices beyond the veil," he said at last. "And why Buffy was effected so strongly."

"It does?" Ginny asked.

Buffy rested her chin on her hand thoughtfully. "At the end of fourth year, when we caught the carriages back to Hogsmeade, I could see the Thestrals," she said. "I was surprised, because at that point I hadn't seen a human die, only demons and vampires and I was pretty sure they didn't count. Merrick thought that maybe it was because as the Slayer I have a strong connection with death. It would make sense."

"Exactly what did you hear?" Giles asked, fetching his notepad once more. Buffy guessed this was an entry for his own Watcher diary.

"Voices," she said diligently, then waited for the frustrated look, knowing that wasn't enough for him. "More than that though. I heard words, sentences actually."

"Did you recognise them?"

"Uh huh. Lothos, the Master and Darla. Not really the three I'd expect to see together, well, maybe Darla and the Master, but Lothos was so much classier," Buffy babbled. "I could feel them, Giles. The Master had this way of making you do what he wanted and Lothos had ways of controlling you. I could hear this really faint music. I think it was really them and they were trying to get me to step through. If Tonks hadn't posed as Angel to get my attention I probably would have done it."

"You didn't hear Sirius?" Harry asked as if fearing the answer.

Buffy shook her head. "These seem to be _my_ ghosts. Maybe you can only hear people you knew. But then, I knew Sirius, so that wouldn't work."

"Perhaps it is only the voices of those you killed, or those for whom you feel responsible," Giles suggested.

"I killed Lothos and the Master, but I don't feel responsible for Darla. And why wasn't Merrick there? I feel responsible for _his_ death."

"Yes, but Angel killed Darla to save _your_ life," Giles pointed out. "I'm sure she would hold you responsible. As to Merrick, I don't know."

"They're not human," Buffy said thoughtfully. "None of them are human spirits they're vampires. We know from Angel that a human soul is sent to the ether when they become a vampire."

"So what you're suggesting is that these aren't the voices of humans beyond the veil, but monsters," Giles summed up. "And somehow witnessing death allows those around the veil to hear them."

"And my closer connection with death let me hear them a whole lot clearer." Buffy frowned, deep in thought. "Can we use this?"

"I'll work on it," Giles promised. "For now, you three had best head on back to school."

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_Buffy jumped back as lightning struck the path in front of her. Thunder roared overhead. "Kendra?"_

_The sound of sobbing was muffled by the storm. Buffy looked around desperately. Rain pelted her and the wind whipped her hair back and forth until she could barely see. _

"_Kendra, where are you?"_

_Someone barrelled into Buffy's side, sending them both rolling into the trees. Buffy tried to disentangle them, but whoever it was held on to her tightly, crying into her shoulder._

"_Kendra! What's wrong?"_

_The shaking form refused to meet Buffy's eyes. She could not speak through the great tearing gasps she was taking with each breath. With a sigh, Buffy pulled Kendra into an embrace, just holding her as rain fell in torrents around them, until the time came for her to awaken._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It didn't take long for Buffy to figure out what had upset Kendra. The minute she walked into the Great Hall for breakfast she was dragged out again by her friends and led to a nearby classroom.

"We figured out why Tonks got called away last night," Harry said urgently.

Buffy sighed. "What is it?"

"There was an attack on Cardiff's magical district last night," Ginny said. She was biting her lip nervously. "Over fifty late night shoppers were killed by a single person. According to the paper it happened so fast that the attacker was already gone by the time the Aurors arrived. They don't know how one person could have caused so much destruction. We thought…" she allowed her voice to trail off, but Buffy knew exactly what she was alluding to.

"If you were about to suggest that Kendra did this," she started. The other three looked apprehensive. "You would be right." She couldn't decide if they looked relieved or more worried by this. "I had another dream last night. She couldn't even talk to me, she just cried. I didn't know exactly what had happened, but I knew it had been something big." She dropped into a nearby chair. "No wonder she was so upset. This must be tearing her apart."

Harry sat next to her, his gaze fixed on the floor. "I had bad scar pains last night," he said slowly. "He was happy about what happened. Almost giddy. He wasn't there though, so at least I didn't have to watch."

Buffy rested her head on his shoulder. "How's it going with Slughorn?"

Harry sighed. "I still don't have it, but Ron and I had an idea."

Ron nodded eagerly. "Felix Felicitas," he said sagely.

"Luck potion?" Buffy asked, frowning. "That could work, but where will you get it from?"

"I already have some," Harry said with a trace of a smile. "Slughorn gave it to me at the beginning of the year for brewing the potion we were working on so well."

"How did you manage that?" Buffy blurted, before realising what she had said. "Oh, Harry! I didn't mean it like that."

Harry shot her a lop-sided grin. "I know. I do much better in that class without Snape breathing down my neck. I was lucky."

Ginny smiled enthusiastically. "Great. When are you going to do it?"

"Tonight," Harry replied. "I want it out of the way before Easter."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They met once again in the library. It was the day Willow and Jenny made their weekly visit to the nearest muggle town so that Willow could e-mail her parents and Xander and Joyce had decided to go with them. Buffy knew that her friends and mother were craving a little bit of normalcy and she couldn't blame them for seizing it when the opportunity arose

Angel sat on a couch, trying to look alert. They'd roused him for this meeting only moments before, so it wasn't very surprising that he was failing miserably. Ginny, Harry and Ron sat at the long table. Ginny was calm and Ron was looking bored, but Harry was practically bouncing with energy. He was the one that had requested this meeting, but he had refused to tell anyone until now what it was about, though Buffy had guessed it had something to do with the memory he had retrieved from Professor Slughorn and the mysterious horcruxes.

Giles entered with a pot of tea and seated himself near the two boys. "Now," he said. "Would you care to enlighten us as to the reason for this get together?"

"I know what horcruxes are," Harry burst out excitedly. "They're soul fragments."

"What! Angel exclaimed.

Harry took a deep breath and prepared to explain everything he knew. "Horcruxes are made when a wizard murders someone. He can split off a part of his soul into an object and keep it safe. As long as part of his soul is still out there somewhere he can't die."

"Oh," Buffy's hand flew to her mouth as she put the pieces together. "Voldemort made one didn't he? That's why he didn't die when he tried to kill you as a baby. I mean, he was hit by a rebounded killing curse, he shouldn't have survived it."

Harry nodded. "Actually he made six and he's the seventh one."

Angel looked thunder struck. His mouth worked furiously, but he couldn't seem to find the words.

"Dumbledore said that if we find all the pieces and destroy them it will make Voldemort mortal again," Harry reported. "Then I'll be able to kill him."

"How?" Angel spluttered. "How can someone be so cavalier with their very soul? Doesn't he realise what a precious thing it is?"

Buffy laid a comforting hand on his arm. "His soul means nothing to him," she said gently. "He wasn't using it anyway. It's diseased and rotting. Yours is bright and pure and strong. _That's_ why I love you. He doesn't even know what love is."

Angel pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. "But it's his soul."

"I know," Buffy murmured into his chest. "I know."

Harry seemed shocked at Angel's reaction, but carried on regardless. "Two have already been destroyed."

"The diary," Ginny said abruptly.

Harry stared into her eyes for a long moment before nodding. "And a ring that belonged to Slytherin. Dumbledore destroyed that one. That leaves four and Voldemort himself. Dumbledore's looking for the others right now. He said that when he finds one I could go with him and help destroy it."

Buffy couldn't help notice how that seemed to buoy Harry's confidence. "That's great," she said warmly. It was about time Dumbledore did something to help Harry prepare for this battle.

"I must say, this is most intriguing," Giles said, his eyes straying to the mountainous shelves of books as if one of them would jump out to give him more information on the subject. "I believe I have some tomes on soul magic. I'll see what can be found."

"I never thought I'd advocate destroying someone's soul," Angel said wearily.

"Maybe we don't have to," a new voice said from the door.

Buffy turned to see Jenny standing in the doorway, Xander and Willow flanking her.

"There's something you all need to know," Jenny said, her eyes focused on Giles' face.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: I know, I know. It's been three weeks since my last update, but I had a bad case of writers block. This chapter just didn't want to be written, but I got there. It's a little shorter than usual, but I liked this as a place to end. Please review and let me know what you think. Hopefully it won't take quite so long to get the next chapter up.

Don't worry it wasn't really the Mayor who heard the prophecy (unless you want to pretend it was.) I randomly chose a character whose initials I could steal and I thought it would be fun to use his, as he would have been alive back then. I won't be making an issue of the person who heard the prophecy though, so don't expect to hear anything more on it in the story.

I've changed chapter 18 so it no longer wrongfully makes Angel a Brit. Better?

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I'm not gonna reply individually this time, but I promise I will do next time.

Dozy.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22.

Jenny stepped into the room, eyeing the occupants warily. Buffy found her own gaze wandering to her two friends as they took seats at the long table.

"Don't look at me," Xander shrugged. "I know less about this than you do."

Jenny took a deep breath. "I've not been entirely honest with you," she said slowly, her eyes locked with Giles'.

"Jenny?" Giles sounded as confused as Buffy felt.

"Jana, actually. At least that was the name my parents gave me, until I had it changed so I could fit in more easily in Sunnydale."

"Anyone noticing a pattern here?" Xander piped up after a long moment. "All our friends seem to have these huge stories that involve them changing their name at some point. Am I the only one who still has the name he was born with?" Willow patted his hand consolingly.

Jenny ignored him. "I was born a Romani, a gypsy."

Angel's head shot up. "Romani?"

"Yes, Angel. I belong to the tribe that originally cursed you with a soul."

Buffy gasped. That had been the last thing she was expecting. Her mind started spinning as it began going through the possibilities of this latest revelation.

Angel's hands were shaking slightly so she reached over and took one in her own. Giles was staring at her in disbelief, his mouth opening and closing, but no sound coming out.

Willow and Xander were looking from Angel to Jenny, transfixed. They both knew what this meant to Angel especially.

Harry, Ron and Ginny didn't seem to know what to think. Harry had lowered his eyebrows in apparent confusion and Ron and Ginny were wearing identical expressions of bemusement.

"Please, just let me tell this," Jenny begged them. "I was raised in the traditional way for a daughter of my tribe, to be dutiful and keep our secrets. When I became an adult I was also taught the ways of shaman, but never had enough magic to truly become proficient. I was ashamed. My uncles decided that I needed to be useful in other ways, so they sent me out into the world.

"I went to university and studied computer science, among other things and later, returned to my tribe as one of their most accomplished women. My time at college was difficult. Many of the other students avoided the strange gypsy girl and it was for that reason, more than any other that I decided to change my name when I was given my assignment.

"My uncles always kept tabs on Angel. They knew the curse was a difficult one to break, but they wanted to be assured that he suffered still, so they watched out for him. I know that it was difficult for them, because he never really stayed in one place for very long and when we located him he was spending the majority of his time in alleyways hunting for rats."

Ginny's gasp caught everyone's attention. "Rats?" she whispered in a pained voice.

"What else was I to eat?" Angel asked bitterly. "I couldn't hunt humans and at that time butchers weren't giving out blood to anyone who asked. When I was first cursed I almost starved to death. I was so weak and I was desperate. I became a drifter, living in alleys and barely surviving on the rats I could catch for almost a century. I couldn't be around humans, the guilt was unbearable and I was so hungry I didn't trust myself. Sometimes I considered just letting myself starve, but I was scared. I didn't want to die." His whole speech had been delivered while staring at the floor, but now he looked up into Jenny's eyes. "Is that enough suffering for your people?"

Jenny paled drastically. Buffy was slightly entranced though. She knew parts of this story, but it was rare Angel was so open about his past, even with her. "What changed?"

"I met a balance demon," Angel explained, his gaze now on her, his expression softer. "He gave me a choice. Learn to be someone worthwhile and make a difference or carry on as the waste of space I was. He showed me something that I could fight for and I chose." His finger traced her cheekbone lightly. "He showed me you."

Buffy's eyes widened. "Me?"

Angel smiled softly. "You. I saw you training with Merrick and I watched as you fought a gang of vampires and I fell in love with you. I wanted to help you." He leaned down and kissed her and she melted into his arms, forgetting all the people around them until Xander cleared his throat sharply. "He taught me a lot and then sent me to Sunnydale just a few weeks before you moved there with your mom."

"And I moved there shortly afterwards," Jenny said, continuing from where she had left off. "My people had noticed that you had been acting differently, suffering less and they wanted to know why. That was my job. When you appeared in Sunnydale they sent me to see what I could find out, because I had the most contact with the real world. I applied for a job at Sunnydale and that's when I met most of you. I couldn't find out anything about Angel until I saw him the night Buffy killed the Master, but when I did I approved. Maybe you weren't suffering as much as my people would have liked, but you were fighting for the right side now and to me that is infinitely better.

"I reported back to my uncles and they demanded that I come home at once, my objective fulfilled. They didn't share my views on Angel's status, but knew there was nothing they could do and at least they knew what was happening."

"Why didn't you?" Giles asked, the hurt clear in his voice.

"I couldn't leave," Jenny explained. "I saw what you were all doing and it was worthwhile and I knew that I could help. There was another reason too." Her look seemed to plead with Giles, but his expression was unreadable. "My name and the reason I was there were the only things I ever lied about," she said desperately. "Everything else was the truth, I swear."

Buffy felt that she couldn't blame her. Even though she had been sent to watch Angel. There were too many parallels between her own story and Jenny's for her to be too angry. "I believe you," she said softly.

"Me too," Willow agreed.

Jenny shot them both a grateful look, before glancing hopefully at Giles, but his face remained impassive.

"Perhaps we can talk in private later," he said steadily, his voice revealing no emotion.

"Excuse me," Harry said apologetically. "But what does this have to do with Voldemort?"

"The curse," Buffy said quickly before Jenny could answer. "She wants to use the same curse on Voldemort to return all the pieces of his soul to his body."

"Would that work?" Harry asked excitedly.

"I don't see why not," Jenny said in a slightly wavering voice. "The original spells have been lost even to my people as we can no longer translate them, but I think I can make a computer programme that will do the trick. We may need to tweak it a bit. It was intended for vampires, not humans. And his soul is in pieces scattered who knows where, but I'm sure it can be done."

"Do it," Buffy said decisively. "Have Willow help you."

"Buffy?" Giles said quietly. "What are you thinking?"

"How did it feel when you were first hit with this curse?" Buffy asked Angel.

"Disorientating."

"That's what I thought," Buffy mused aloud. "Ok. So I'm thinking we keep this to the people in this room. No one else needs to know. If we use this right we could win this."

Harry looked up hopefully. "Really?"

"Yup," Buffy said chirpily. "We wait until the big showdown, we do this curse and then you kill him while he's distracted."

"We're going to have to let Professor Dumbldore know at least some of this," Giles pointed out. "He's looking for horcruxes as we speak. Eventually Voldemort will find out about that and we could lose our element of surprise."

Harry bit his lip, nodding slightly. "It should work and he'll be mortal then, but…"

"But what?" Willow asked gently.

"I don't think I can do the killing curse," Harry blurted.

Buffy blinked. She hadn't even thought about that. "I doubt you could," Buffy said softly. "But there are other ways. I think it's time I taught you how to fight with a sword. Maybe Dumbledore will let you borrow Gryffindor's."

Harry looked a little excited at the prospect, but didn't say anything.

"Um," Xander began. "What's the difference? Either way he'll still be dead, right?"

Buffy shook her head. "The killing curse is… well it's unforgivable. I don't think Harry will be sent to Azkaban for using it on Voldemort, but the curse itself changes you. You have to have so much hate and darkness within you to be able to cast it."

"Isn't that too easy?" Ron wondered out loud. "Harry's supposed to have some power that he'll use to defeat You-Know-Who, but you want him to just stick a sword in him?"

"It's not as simple as that," Giles disagreed. "We can get this spell prepared, but we can't cast it until the battle itself is underway. Harry will need to keep him busy until we're done."

"Do we have any idea what this power that Harry's got is?" Willow asked.

Buffy shrugged lightly. "Who knows? Dumbledore could be right. Maybe it is love. Or it could be any number of things. Until it surfaces there's nothing we can do."

"And if it never surfaces?" Harry asked meekly.

Buffy smiled her brightest smile. "I have faith in you."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Easter was fast approaching and the workload was increasing for all of them. Not only were Buffy and Ginny studying for their OWLs and Ron and Harry for their sixth year tests, but they were spending as much time as was humanly possible learning spells and curses and Buffy was teaching Harry how to wield a sword.

There was even more studying going on at Giles' place. Jenny and Willow were translating the soul curse and so far their progress had been encouraging. They were also looking into a wiccan means of breaking the spell on Kendra. Giles was still going through the Watcher's diaries with Xander's help. Just recently they had made what they hoped would be a major breakthrough if their suspicions proved correct. They thought they had found the diary of the Watcher whose Slayer had been subjected to this curse before.

Things between Jenny and Giles were a bit tense. Giles appeared to be having trouble accepting that the woman he was in love with had been keeping secrets from him. If things kept on the way they were Buffy would soon remind him that she had done exactly the same thing and he had supported her. After all, Jenny had reasons for hiding what she had.

Joyce was beginning to relax about the whole Slayer issue. She still didn't want to think about her only daughter being a warrior for the Powers That Be, but she was accepting of the fact that Slayers and vampires existed. She continued to do the majority of the cooking and cleaning around the house. She told Buffy that it made her feel useful. She couldn't bring herself to spend much time doing research with the Scoobies, but did want to help out wherever possible and this was her solution. Everyone had agreed to leave her be as much as possible.

Buffy was doing well with her schoolwork. Her time in Sunnydale had been well spent as she found she had already done much of the theory in all her subjects. Professor Snape, who was no longer aggressive towards her in classes, but did spend a lot of time giving her inscrutable looks, puzzled her. It was possible the memory he'd seen of her killing the Master had adversely affected him, but why had he been so against the idea of Slayers in the first place? She felt that there had to be more to it than simple jealousy that she was better at Defence Against the Dark Arts than he was, but she didn't know what it could possibly be.

Buffy planned on spending the Easter break with her friends in Hogsmeade. Harry, Ron and Ginny, none of whom ever left the school for Easter, had decided to join her. They all felt that the calm of Giles' house would be ideal for studying and were looking forward to the break from classes.

The four were in the Great Hall at dinner one evening when McGonagall approached them and requested that Harry and Buffy go and meet Professor Dumbledore in his office. Buffy was glad to get away from Malfoy's staring eyes. He hadn't said anything to her lately, but she felt him gazing at her whenever they were in the same room. His love-struck demeanour was really creeping her out. She wished he'd find someone else to moon over.

As they entered the office to find Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, Buffy was suddenly struck with just how old he was. His usual exuberance gave him an aura of youth that belied his general appearance of age. She took one of the seats that had been placed before him with some trepidation. Anything that could worry the headmaster into acting like the old man he was, had to be worth her concern.

"Yes, yes, come in, sit down," Dumbledore said. "I have asked you here today, to make a very serious request of you both."

Buffy exchanged a nervous look with Harry. It wasn't every day that the headmaster of Hogwarts made requests of students. "Yes, sir?" Harry asked cautiously.

"The two of you and, of course, your two friends, seem to know more about what is happening both within this school and elsewhere in the wizarding community than any other students and even most adults. I expect this has something to do with the four of you consistently sneaking off school grounds."

Buffy's eyebrows hit her hairline. He knew about that? And hadn't stopped them?

Dumbledore shot her an amused smile. "Although I am not aware of your destination I suspect it has something to do with Mr Giles and Mr Angel. I admit to being concerned the first few times you left the grounds, but they were resolved once I met Mr Giles. I didn't prevent your leaving because I felt that you were doing nothing wrong at the time and children must be permitted to make their own mistakes."

Buffy snorted slightly. "That didn't seem to bother you when you forced me to leave Sunnydale."

Dumbledore sighed sadly. "I believed it to be for the best, Miss Granger. I wasn't willing to risk your life just to let you learn for yourself that it wasn't safe for you there." His eyes focused on her for a long moment and Buffy practised one of her meditation techniques. She couldn't feel him probing her mind, but that didn't mean he wasn't trying. She trusted him, but not that much.

"As I was saying, the two of you are well informed of what goes on in the world and it is for this reason that I want to request your presence at an Order meeting over the Easter holiday."

Buffy gasped. Beside her Harry's mouth was hanging wide open as he gaped at the headmaster. "You want us to join the Order? he asked breathlessly.

"Please understand that this is _not_ an invitation to join, but a request for the two of you and Mr Giles of course, to be present while we discuss a few matters that I feel you are uniquely qualified to help us with. Miss Granger in particular."

"I don't understand," Harry confessed. "What can _we_ help you with?"

"You underestimate yourselves," Dumbledore said gently. "You are both remarkably powerful for teenagers. Miss Granger, you are a Slayer and have abilities the rest of us do not fully understand. You also have insight into the young lady who is responsible for the recent attacks."

"Attacks?" Buffy said at once. "I only heard about the one."

"The attack on Cardiff was the most severe, but there have been others on a smaller scale. All the victims of these attacks were killed with muggle weapons as opposed to magical ones. It is for this reason that I would like you to be at the meeting."

Buffy nodded her agreement as Harry asked, "and me, sir?"

"May I assume you have told Miss Granger everything of import?" Dumbledore said, looking between the two of them.

"Yes, sir."

"Then, Harry, you are the one who will deliver us from this war. I cannot make you a full member, but I believe it is time you are aware of what is happening on that front. You may hear something that will help us on our quest for horcruxes."

Harry looked at Buffy hesitantly. After a moments thought she smiled. Harry turned back to Dumbledore. "About that, sir. Without going into details, we may have a way of destroying the horcruxes without actually finding them first."

It was the first time in Buffy's memory that the unshakable Albus Dumbledore had been rendered speechless. She was glad to be here to witness it. "I don't think we should tell you how just yet," she said casually. Let him feel what it was like for once. "We don't know for certain that this will work, but we're fairly confident. The best part is that this can be used as a distraction at a critical moment, which is why we're going to ask you to cease all attempts to look for any more horcruxes. We don't want Voldy to know we know about them."

"I see," Dumbledore said after a visible effort to get himself under control. "He will come at Harry, knowing that he cannot be killed and then you will do, whatever it is you think you can do and Harry can gain the upper hand. His own over confidence will be his undoing."

Buffy nodded sagely. "When is the Order meeting?"

A few minutes later Dumbledore had supplied them with a date as well as a portkey to get them there at the correct time. He had also given Buffy a letter to pass on to Giles, which she suspected held the secret to headquarters.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Mr Giles, so pleased to meet you." Lupin had met them at the door of twelve Grimmauld Place. "Harry, Hermione," he nodded at them both. "Go on through to the kitchen. That's where we're working tonight."

Buffy and Harry led Giles to the kitchen where most of the Order were already seated at the large table. A few members, like Mrs Weasley, shot them disapproving looks while others seemed welcoming. Some people were gazing at Harry in fascination, but fortunately no one approached them. Buffy sat down as far from Snape as she could manage with Harry and Giles on either side of her. A few other people were entering as they were making themselves comfortable, few of whom Buffy recognised. It seemed the Order had grown since the last time she had been here.

Eventually Dumbledore cleared his throat and everyone settled down. "Thank you everyone, for coming. We have a lot to get through tonight so if we could please keep all unnecessary chatter to a minimum that would be much appreciated."

"Albus, why are the children here?" McGonagall asked, her lips pursed.

"And a muggle," Snape added.

There were gasps at that as everyone looked to Giles, who ducked his head slightly in embarrassment.

"Harry, Hermione and Mr Giles are here at my request," Dumbledore said forcefully. "I am aware that Harry is underage and that both he and Hermione are still at school, but neither one of them are children any more. Mr Giles may be a muggle, but he has been aware of our world for many years. His unique perspective will bring much to our discussion."

Buffy noticed that Giles was still on the receiving end of some mistrustful stares and glared around the room. Only Mr Weasley was beaming happily at Giles as he whispered something to his wife.

"Are there any new orders of business before we get started?" Dumbledore asked.

Bill Weasley raised a hand. "The goblins finished with the wards last night," he said. "They even procured a vampire to test it on and they're satisfied. Well, almost. They're disappointed because they can't get them to kill the vampires, only repel them."

"Thank you," Dumbledore nodded. "After Hermione's friend, Angel, managed to walk so easily into Hogwarts, I realised that a rather large oversight had been made with the wards. They allowed a vampire to walk right through. Goblins have long been the most accomplished of ward makers so I procured their services to create a barrier that would prevent any vampire from setting foot on the grounds."

Buffy felt Giles sit up eagerly beside her and felt her own interest peaked. "How does that work," Giles said excitedly. "Such a thing could be most advantageous."

"It's rather ingenious actually," Bill put in. "Vampires cannot enter a home without permission from someone who lives there. It's like a natural ward. The goblins found a way to recreate that and placed it on the walls surrounding Hogwarts. Now any vampire that tries to enter will be thrown back by an invisible barrier."

"Why doesn't Hogwarts have one of these natural wards?" someone Buffy didn't know queried.

"It is a public building," Giles explained. "These natural wards, if that is what you wish to call them, only appear around homes, private property, if you will."

"You seem very knowledgeable on this subject, Mr Giles," someone observed.

"You have all been made aware of Buffy's, sorry Hermione's identity as the Slayer," Giles said. "I am her Watcher. It is my job to train and prepare her for the things she will face."

"This is why I have requested their presence tonight," Dumbledore said genially. "The knowledge they have of this subject surpasses our own."

"Albus tells us that the girl who killed all those people in Cardiff was a Slayer too," Moody said gruffly.

"That's right," Buffy said warily.

"You mean this little girl has the power to rip through an area as well warded as that and kill all those fully trained witches and wizards without drawing a wand?" a voice burst out.

"The only difference between Kendra and myself is that I am _capable_ of drawing a wand," Buffy said, her eyes scanning the table for whoever had spoken. "Kendra is not a witch, but she does have all the inherent Slayer abilities, just as I do."

"Kendra would be her name then?" Moody grunted. "What would those abilities be?"

"Incredible speed and strength, heightened senses, the ability to sense the supernatural, which Buffy tells me includes your magic," Giles listed off. "Slayers also have some immunity to magic."

"And we heal super fast," Buffy added.

"Can I assume that is why Madame Pomfrey reprimanded me for wasting her time when you first returned to us in November?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes glittering with amusement.

"I told Professor McGonagall I didn't need to go, but she insisted," Buffy said sweetly. "Everything had already healed on its own, better than even Madame Pomfrey could have done it and I didn't have to take one single nasty tasting potion to accomplish it."

A few titters swept the room at her comment and Dumbledore smiled at her in a grandfatherly way. "Let us go back to the other abilities," he suggested. "How strong would you say she is?"

"Very," Buffy said simply.

"Perhaps a demonstration is in order," Giles said. "I'm sure Buffy is up to whatever task you set her."

"Thanks, Giles," Buffy said irritably.

"Have her wrestle the werewolf," Snape said nastily.

"I will _not_," Lupin said vehemently.

"Of course not," Dumbledore agreed. "I wouldn't condone it. However, Severus is correct in suggesting that anyone who could best you would be far stronger than a normal human. Even when you are not transformed you have impressive strength."

"So you want us to arm wrestle?" Buffy said incredulously.

"Both of you place your wands on the table beside you so we can be sure no cheating is taking place," Dumbledore said pleasantly.

With a sigh Buffy did as he said and took her position opposite a clearly reluctant Lupin.

"I could hurt you," he agonised. "Albus is right. I'm stronger, I should…"

"I know," Buffy said gently. "But I'm strong too. Just give it your all. I promise I won't get hurt."

Judging from his pained expression he didn't believe her. Buffy took his offered hand in hers and readied herself.

She was dimly aware of being counted in, but she blocked it all out. If she knew Lupin at all he would go easy on her out of a misguided belief that he could hurt her. When she heard someone call out for them to start she locked her arm in place, but made no effort to push. Lupin was pushing gently against her, with less strength than a normal man would use.

"Now you're just insulting me," Buffy said seriously. It barely took any effort to hold her arm still. She raised her free hand to yawn into it theatrically.

Lupin pushed a little harder, but still not with his full strength. "You _are_ very strong," he said.

"Yes, I am," Buffy said simply. "I'm a Slayer and everything that entails. I'm not made of glass. You can use your full strength and I _will not be hurt_."

For a long moment they looked deeply into one another's eyes. Buffy felt that Lupin was trying to sense the truth of that statement, perhaps he knew some Legilimency himself. Finally, as if he saw something that convinced him, he redoubled his efforts. Suddenly it was a lot harder to keep her arm where it was.

"That's it," Buffy grinned. With seemingly no effort at all, she slammed his arm back onto the table.

Gasps sounded behind her and muttering filled the air. Over everything Buffy heard Snape sneer, "Obviously the werewolf let her win."

"Quiet," Lupin called out and everyone stilled. "At the end I was using everything I had and you beat me as though it was nothing." Switching his gaze to the rest of the room, he said, "Trust me, she is as strong as she claims."

"Then I suggest we have as little to do with her as possible," Snape said icily. "She is too dangerous. She could end up like the other one and then where would we be?"

"That's ridiculous," Harry burst out. "Without Hermione we have no way of beating Kendra. Magic won't work. We need her."

As arguments broke out across the room Buffy focused her attention on Snape. He was looking at her again, with an almost unreadable expression, but she could sense something behind it. Something he was desperately trying to keep hidden. Behind them Dumbledore called the room to order, but Buffy hardly noticed. As silence fell over the crowd Buffy couldn't tear her eyes away from her teacher.

"Are you scared of me?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: Finally. That Order meeting did not want to be written. Got it eventually though. Sorry for the delay. I was in a car accident just over a week ago and sitting at my laptop to type was incredibly uncomfortable as I had whiplash. All better now though.

You'll notice that I changed some things in both Jenny's and Angel's explanations in the first scene. That's because I choose to ignore the moment of perfect happiness clause of the curse. Partly because I don't like it and partly because I don't have time in this story to have Angel lose his soul, or get all upset because he might. We all know Angel would break up with Buffy if he knew what could happen.

Some of these replies are from Chapter 20 as I didn't do them last time.

**Stasa** Thank you. I felt that Angel wouldn't just shrug it off. His soul is the one thing that he really values, apart from Buffy. He would definitely go through the roof if he thought someone else had abused theirs, especially as he went through so much pain for his.

**Lightdemindarkangel** Don't scream, you'll hurt my ears.

**CallaRose4eva** Hadn't planned on Viktor appearing. I don't think I have enough time for him to appear now. We are approaching the end of this story (don't worry, still a few chapters left.)

**Silver Warrior** That would be telling. Malfoy bashing, huh? I think I can help you there…

MirrorEarths I need Kendra where she is for now, though I will admit that I never thought of doing it that way anyway and before Cardiff she hadn't left Voldie's side in order for them to try anything like that. I guess it's a little frustrating that Buffy has limited access to someone who knows what is going on, but can't find anything out. I want it like that for a reason. Some things need to be kept secret for a little while longer. Yes, I am trying to be mysterious. 

**pstibbons **Thank you for all those lovely reviews. I appreciate your comments. I won't respond to every one, because that would take me a while and this would never be posted. I will say that I have wondered that about Voldie's soul myself. It would make sense, but I think JKR is going along the lines of the soul fragment that was in him that night was banished instead of killed and it was that fragment that was possessing Quirrell etc. His mortal body was destroyed by the reflected killing curse, but not the soul within. That's how I see it. What do you think?

**JessAngelus** I've actually left their relationship in the attraction stage for quite some time now. I doubt it will go beyond that, simply because I don't have the space to devote to it and it's a little difficult to do out of someone else's eyes. I hope the last chapter explained what was happening in the Death Chamber for you. Sirius didn't speak to her because his soul passed on, but the demonic parts of the vampires Buffy spoke to remained. They couldn't go to Heaven or Hell because they aren't souls, instead they reside behind the veil. That's how I see it anyway.

**VaporficQueen** I don't blame you for your denial. Sirius should never have died. I was considering bringing him back that way and even asked readers if they wanted me to, but most of them seemed indifferent or didn't want me to. I think it was only one reader who particularly asked for that to happen. Stalker Draco, eh? Sounds fun. He's not that far off it in this fic. I have a plan for Draco (and no I'm not telling you what it is) that doesn't involve Buffy in any way so he won't get too far down that road.

**Stupid Monkey** You'll have to wait and see. Heehee.

**Philbert Humperdinkel** Thanks for pointing that out. He's the DADA Professor. I hadn't realised I'd done that though. I will be going back and changing it. 

Thank you to everyone else who reviewed. You all have such good ideas and I enjoy reading them. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know in a review.

Nat.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23.

"Are you scared of me?"

Snape glared, but did not answer her. Order members turned to him in surprise, wondering if the accusation was correct.

"It's a simple question, Professor."

Snape huffed and crossed his arms. "One I am not inclined to answer. However, if you are so arrogant as to think that _I_ could be frightened by a mere slip of a girl then you are sorely mistaken."

"It would explain why he's so hostile towards her," Tonks mused.

Snape stood, his face a thundercloud. "I will not stay here to be faced with such disrespect," he snarled.

"That is enough," Dumbledore said sharply. "We have strayed far from the point of today's meeting. Everyone, please return to your seats and settle down."

Buffy retook her seat between Harry and Giles, not missing the relieved look on Snape's face as the focus of the meeting left him.

"What does this mean, Albus?" Hestia Jones asked plaintively.

"It means that we have a Slayer too," Moody grunted. "She can face the Dark Lord's Slayer, while we concentrate on the Death Eaters."

"_She_ has a name," Buffy pointed out irritably.

"You do your job and it won't matter what her name was," Moody said.

Buffy's mouth dropped open. "You expect me to kill her?" she exclaimed.

"That's what you're here for, isn't it?" Dedalus Diggle called out.

"No!" Buffy said vehemently. She turned to Giles desperately.

"We are looking for a way to free Kendra," he said in a calming voice. "We hope she can be returned to us safely. Two Slayers working together would be an almost unstoppable force."

"And in the mean time she's killing good people," Moody said roughly.

"Do you kill someone under the Imperious Curse?" Giles demanded. "This is no different. She has no control over her actions."

"The risk is too high," Lupin said slowly. "I don't like this either, but…"

"No," Buffy said sharply after trying unsuccessfully to force down her anger. "She's trapped in her own head, screaming to get out. She's forced to watch what Voldemort makes her body do. She's a victim here. We need to help her, not make the situation worse for her."

"How do you know that?" someone called from the back of the room. "She could be doing this of her own free will."

"Buffy, or rather Hermione shares dreams with Kendra," Giles said in his best lecturer voice. "As of yet we are unsure exactly how it happens, but the two of them have become rather close."

"I held her in my arms the night of the Cardiff attack," Buffy said sombrely. "She was raised to be the perfect little soldier, devoid of emotions, but this whole thing is forcing them onto her and she doesn't know how to deal with them. She was so distraught. I didn't think she'd ever stop crying. And now you want me to kill her." She looked up into the eyes of Albus Dumbledore. "How does that make us any better than them?" she asked softly.

Giles cleared his throat. "There is perhaps another reason why it would be imprudent. Kendra's death would activate another Slayer. We have no idea who that girl could be. If Voldemort were to find her first we would end up in this same situation. How many girls do we kill before enough is enough?"

"Surely we could find this girl first?" McGonagall said worriedly. "With her safe, this Kendra could be killed and we would have both Slayer's as you suggest."

Buffy shook her head. "There are potential Slayers the world over. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of them. We could take in every single one we can find and still never be sure one of them would be the right girl. There is no way to know until Kendra or myself are dead. In the moment that happens the Powers That Be will make their choice and the next Slayer will be Called."

"Then we work on finding her first after the other girl is dead," Hestia suggested.

"The only people who can locate a new Slayer are the Watcher's Council," Giles said. "They will not help us. If we were to ask they would answer by sending Hermione back to the Hellmouth with a new Watcher and I would lose my job. We are here without their knowledge."

"Why wouldn't they help us?" Dumbledore asked.

"Because of what happened last time," Harry cut in. Everyone turned to give him incredulous looks. "They sent a Slayer to help us and this same curse took her. Instead of letting them deal with it, the wizards called in demons and vampires to kill her. They might have been able to save her, but because of us she died. That's what we're planning to do again. Kill this girl without even _trying_ to save her. They will not help us and to be honest, I can't blame them."

Buffy smiled warmly at Harry. "I'll fight her if I have to, but killing is a last resort. All I ask is that you let us try. She's innocent in all of this."

She turned to look into the guilty faces of many in the room. The word innocent seemed to have struck a chord with many of them.

"Very well, Hermione," Dumbledore said sagely. "I agree to your terms. Do what you can."

"I believe we're close to a breakthrough," Giles said quickly. "A source informed us that this curse was created hundreds of years ago, by a Dark Lord of the time. This was at a time when the Slayers worked closely with wizards. We have located the diary of the Watcher of the Slayer it was first used upon. We hope that there will be some useful information there."

"If Slayers once worked with us, why don't we know anything about them now?" a dark haired young man asked.

As Giles explained what they knew from Ethan's story and from what had been gleaned from the diaries, Buffy allowed her mind to drift. She knew Giles was carefully editing the story so the Order wouldn't hear certain things, such as how to contact the Watcher's Council. It was one thing Giles had been adamant about. He knew there would be a time when this conflict was over and she would return to her Slaying. They would know about both her and Kendra for as long as they lived, but they wouldn't know who the next Slayer was and in that way they could protect the Slayer line from the wizarding world. Only the Council could locate the next Slayer and they couldn't reveal what they knew to the wizards.

As this was running through her head another thought occurred to her. Why hadn't the Council tried to find her or Kendra since they'd lost contact? Perhaps they had, but Buffy hadn't known it. She knew that they'd never located her as a potential or even after she had been Called, either because she was hidden by Hogwarts' wards or her own innate witchiness had overridden the Slayer in her. What about Kendra though? For all she knew the other Slayer was hiding behind a Fidelius Charm with Voldemort except for when she came out for an attack.

Buffy was startled from her thoughts when Giles stood abruptly. Glancing around she noticed that all the Order members were on their feet. The meeting must have come to an end. Moments later they were approached by Tonks with the return portkey.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CRASH!

The front door slammed behind an irate Severus Snape. "Wormtail," he bellowed.

A shuffling sound came from the next room and moments later Peter Pettigrew, better known as Wormtail entered nervously.

"Get me a drink," Severus ordered briskly, sitting in his most comfortable chair. In his current mood it could have been filled with stones and he wouldn't have noticed.

He barely paid attention to Wormtail's scurrying about anymore. The Dark Lord had assigned the rat to keep a watch over him, he was sure and not as the research assistant he claimed to be, but Wormtail was easily intimidated and made an adequate servant, if an extraordinarily unintelligent one.

"H-how did it go?" Wormtail quavered.

"There is no significant information to pass on," Severus said in a bored tone. "I will report to the Master fully when I am next called to his side." It wasn't really a lie, nothing had happened besides that girl showing off and ordering them about like they were the students and she the teacher. He and the Headmaster had concluded the meeting with their usual discussion of what he could pass on and what must remain a secret. They had decided that anything relating to the new wards or the possible counter for the curse the other Slayer was under must be kept hidden. Anything else could be revealed.

"We were subjected to the Granger girl's presence," he said sourly. "Insufferable wench. Of course, she had to be the centre of attention, wrestling the werewolf and trying to take over the meeting. Nothing was resolved."

Out of the corner of his eye Severus could see Wormtail helping himself to the firewhiskey. He slammed his own glass on the table causing Wormtail to shudder in fear and drop the bottle. "Is that why the Dark Lord sent you here?" Severus asked snidely. "To drink my liquor and ask me asinine questions? Get out, vermin."

Wormtail hurried from the room, tripping over his own robes in his haste. The sight brought none of the normal satisfaction to Severus.

The gall of that girl to accuse him, Severus Snape, of cowardice. Did she not realise that he had faced the Dark Lord hundreds of times in the past, nearly always suffering torturous curses for the sake of bringing back whatever information he could for the Order. He studiously ignored the fact that his intentions going in had not been at all altruistic although he had felt at the time as if he had no choice. Who else but the Dark Lord would possibly accept him.

'Do not think of that,' he thought savagely to himself, but it was too late. Across from him hung a mirror, covered in grime and dust, just as Severus liked it. Through the dirt he could see barely a glimpse of his own reflection. In a swift motion Severus caught up his half full glass and hurled it at the mirror, shattering them both.

Half horrified by his own lack of control with Wormtail still in the house he pulled out his wand and _Scourgified_ the whole mess before sinking back into his chair.

"I'm not afraid," he whispered into the empty room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ah hah!" exclaimed a triumphant Rupert Giles. Buffy caught Willow looking at her out of the corner of her eye. The two girls exchanged a look before dropping their gazes back to their books as if they hadn't heard him.

"Ah hah!" Giles tried again.

This time Xander looked up. "That's a nasty cough, G-man."

"It's not a…" Giles glared at them all when he realised they were deliberately ignoring him. "Fine. I shall keep this latest achievement to myself."

"No we want to know," Willow said hurriedly. Giles could be so touchy sometimes.

Buffy glanced at her watch. Her Hogwarts friends had left some time before to eat dinner at the castle, she had remained behind to put some finishing touches on her homework before joining them. She should have been there by now, but she wasn't worried. It was unlikely anyone would miss her who didn't know exactly where she was.

Giles held up the book he'd been poring over. "I have just finished the section of the diary that deals with the curse," he said. "This Slayer was remarkably long lived and many of her battles are catalogued here. The Watcher, a woman named Abigail Edwards, reports that the Council ordered them to this very village to help defend against a Dark Lord. Miss Edwards was a muggle, of course, so could not go up to the school with her charge, which was still very new at the time."

"So this Slayer was still able to see Hogwarts?" Buffy asked slowly. "Even though she wasn't a witch."

"It appears so. We know that a Slayer is no muggle, she is still magical even if she cannot perform spells. Perhaps that is enough." Giles paused and flipped through a few pages. "The Slayer, let's see, her name was Sarah, disappeared shortly after their arrival. Days later she led an attack that decimated the village. Miss Edwards was rescued by a wizard who portkeyed her away just in time, but many were not so lucky."

"Does it say anything about the curse itself?" Willow asked eagerly.

"I'm getting to it. It goes on to say that Miss Edwards met the Minister of Magic who believed Sarah was acting of her own free will. When he informed her that Sarah would be killed she protested and threatened to cut off all ties between the Council and the wizarding world. The Minister took this threat seriously and held her prisoner for months on false charges as an accomplice to mass murder, but she was never sent to Azkaban as she was a muggle. By the time she managed to escape and inform the Council vampires and demons had already been called to assassinate Sarah.

"The Council immediately set to work on locating their Slayer and were able to tell she was under a curse. They themselves were working on a solution when a stray demon was able to reverse it." Giles pulled the book closer, his eyes never leaving the page. "Ah! Here it is. The demon was a Poledra demon." He looked up into the surrounding faces. "They are a particularly wolf-like demon, not only in appearance, but in their astonishing senses of smell and hearing. They usually run in a pack, though it seems this one had been left behind at some point. They also carry venom in their teeth, like a snake." Giles stopped talking abruptly and scanned the next few pages while the three teens sat with bated breath.

"Sarah managed to kill the demon, but not before it had bitten her. The Ministry arrested her in her weakened state and locked her up, although they did heal her wounds and cure the venom in her veins. When the Council heard their Slayer had been retrieved they sent a delegation to bring her back. There was dissention between the Council and the Ministry for weeks before the delegation was allowed to see her. Miss Edwards spent some time consoling the girl in a Ministry holding cell, during which Sarah begged her Watcher to end her life. She did manage to find out that the demon had spoken a simple Wiccan banishment spell, which brought control of Sarah's body back to her, before the delegation was forced to leave.

"The Council's best researchers reviewed this information, but revealed that they had already dismissed such a spell. They later discovered that the venom acted as an agent. Something in it allowed the spell to work."

"What happened to Sarah?" Xander wondered.

"Ethan told me she killed herself," Buffy informed him.

"He was right," Giles said sadly. "Before they left one of the Watchers gave her a knife. He swore that it was to give her a means of escape, but Miss Edwards didn't believe him. Sarah killed herself later that same night."

Silence prevailed for a long moment as everyone paid their respects to a brave Slayer they had never met.

"This venom is treatable, right?" Buffy asked suddenly.

"Yes, Sarah was cured by the Ministry's Healers," Giles said. "I'm not sure what such a treatment would require, but it can be done."

"Then we have a workable plan," Buffy said excitedly. "Willow, can you perform one of these banishment spells."

"There are several different ones," Willow mused. "It sounds like the important part is the venom. If we could get some into Kendra's system any banishment spell should do the trick. It's strange though, banishment spells are normally for possessions, not curses."

"This'll work?" Xander said eagerly. "We poison Kendra, banish the curse and then cure her. Problem solved."

"Not quite." Angel said from the doorway. He walked over to the study area, kissing the top of Buffy's head as he passed her. "We still need to find one of these demons and drain enough venom from it to infect Kendra with and then think of a way of getting it into her."

"The getting it in her is the easy part," Buffy said, thinking hard. "Are any of these demons around here?"

"Unlikely," Giles said thoughtfully. "They're more often found in Ireland, even then they can be hard to locate."

"I'll go," Angel volunteered.

Buffy looked up, horrified.

"It's not like I'm doing anything terribly useful around here," Angel said with a shrug. This way I can help. It might take a couple of weeks though. And I'll need to take Willow."

"Me?" Willow eeped.

"Willow? Why?" Xander demanded.

"She can use magic to locate them," Angel pointed out. "Without her it could take me months."

"It's alright, Xander," Willow said bravely, before he could object again.

"Pack a bag," Angel said tersely. "We'll leave as soon as it's fully dark."

As Willow hurried from the room Buffy turned to her boyfriend, her heart in her eyes.

"You know why I have to do this," he said gently.

"Yeah," Buffy said. "Doesn't mean I have to like it. I wish I could go too, but I have school and OWLs start in a few weeks. Can't miss those. Again."

Angel reached out and brushed her loose hair back from her face. "I'll miss you," he said, so softly that she doubted Xander or Giles heard it.

"Be careful," Buffy insisted.

Angel leaned down to kiss her, but before their lips met Buffy felt her mirror in her jeans' pocket heat up and heard someone calling her name from it.

"What," she said irritably, snapping it open.

"Sorry, Hermione," Tonks said without her usual bubbliness. "Just wanted to know what was going on up there."

"Nothing's going on here, Tonks."

Tonks frowned. "Are you at the school?"

"No, I'm at Giles' place. Why?" Buffy asked, concerned.

"We received an alert from Hogwarts seconds ago, but it was cut off. We're assembling a team to check it out as a precaution, but it wasn't an emergency signal so they're taking their time getting organised. I was hoping for a bit more information. Maybe I should call Harry."

Buffy shared a worried glance with Giles. "Don't contact anyone else, Tonks. Get your team there as soon as possible. I'll go ahead and check it out. I doubt it's anything much. I'll let you know as soon as I can."

"Ok," Tonks agreed and the connection was cut off.

Buffy closed the compact mirror, but didn't put it back in her pocket. "I should get up there."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Angel asked.

"You can't. Vampire wards, remember? Besides, it's probably nothing," Buffy said with a shrug.

"What if it _is_ something?" Xander said pointedly. "You shouldn't go alone."

Buffy smiled at him. He was just a little bit overprotective sometimes. "I'm the only one here besides Angel who can even see the school. I'll be fine."

The mirror in her hand warmed again and Buffy flipped it open before the voice on the other end had a chance to say her name.

"Hermione, don't say anything, just listen." It sounded like Ginny whispering on the other end, but her face didn't appear in the mirror, instead Buffy could see the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall of Hogwarts.

Buffy held a finger to her lips and placed the mirror on the table so everyone could gather around it. As Xander stepped forward he opened his mouth to speak, but Willow smacked his arm before he could.

Hushed voices came through the mirror. It sounded to Buffy as though all the students were muttering to each other, instead of the usual cacophony of sound that was normal at mealtimes.

"Silence," an unfamiliar voice yelled and there was a flash of purple light. The low voices stopped instantly.

Buffy bit her lip uncertainly. What was going on?

"Gentlemen, lady" said Dumbledore's voice. "We can resolve this without violence. Please, let the students go."

"Fool!" hissed another voice, this time female. "You will bow down before me or I will kill you all."

Buffy gasped. "Kendra."

Without waiting to hear from anyone else Buffy spun and ran for the door, pausing only to grab the mirror. She burst through it, barely slowing her pace even when she nearly knocked Joyce over in the corridor. Ignoring her mothers demands to know what was going on Buffy just kept running, dimly aware that Angel was at her side.

It was twilight, only barely dark enough for Angel to be safe outside as the two matched each other stride for stride. It was only a minute before Buffy was pounding through the gates, desperate to get there before Kendra did something she wouldn't be able to forgive herself for.

It took a moment for her to realise Angel was no longer with her and when she did she stopped and looked back. Angel was picking himself up from the ground some ten feet back from the gates. Buffy made to go to him, but he shook his head. "Go," he called.

Buffy nodded and once more broke into a run. As she neared the school she slowed her pace somewhat. All she knew was that Kendra was there. She didn't know what kind of situation she was walking into and if there was one thing Giles had always made a point to tell her was that she should never burst into a situation without checking it out first.

She loped up the steps, keeping to the shadows. The huge castle doors were already open so Buffy slipped in easily. Once inside she could hear the voices emanating from the Great Hall. Apparently it hadn't degenerated into violence yet. That was something.

The Entrance Hall was deserted as Buffy edged along the wall, staying hidden as much as possible. Light flickered from hundreds of candles all across the floor. Buffy peeked around the slightly open door into the Great Hall, dismayed to see that nearly all the students were present. She was likely the only one _not_ there. Kendra was facing the head table with her back to Buffy surrounded by six black robed Death Eaters.

Buffy wondered what was she waiting for. It was unlikely anyone here was a threat to her so why not get straight into the killing? Surely even Dumbledore wouldn't be able to talk her out of attacking.

"It is fully dark at last," the voice only just reached her. Although it was definitely Kendra speaking there was a strange inflection to her words that Buffy hadn't heard before. She guessed it had something to do with the curse. "My vampires shall soon be here to feast upon the students. I shall take care of the staff myself. A grisly end awaits you, Dumbledore. You," she snarled at one Death Eater. "Go and lead my vampires here. They should be arriving at the gates very soon."

The Death Eater bowed and headed straight for Buffy. She ducked out of sight behind the great doors, waiting for him to pass. As he walked by her she reached out a hand and grabbed his robes. At the same time she swung him around to face her she brought up her fist. She lowered him gently to the floor to avoid making a noise and dragged him towards a nearby cupboard. She was pretty sure it was the one Ron and Harry had hid Crabbe and Goyle in at Christmas in their second year when they polyjuiced Draco's minions so she knew there was plenty of room inside. Once he was safely lodged she removed his wand and used it to cast a spell to tie him up and a stunner for good measure.

Tucking the spare wand in a back pocket she pulled out her mirror. "Angel," she whispered.

She only had to wait a moment for his face to appear in place of her reflection. "What is it?" he asked warily.

"Ssh," Buffy cautioned. "Vampires will be appearing at the school gates soon. They're not gonna be able to get in here because of the wards, but they might get bored and go looking for fun elsewhere. I need you to warn as many people as possible, get them to go home where they're safe and tell them not to invite anyone in to their houses, no matter what."

"Got it."

Buffy closed the connection with a small snap and replaced it next to her appropriated wand as she crept back to the doors.

"I grow weary of the wait," Kendra said. "Perhaps I should begin without them."

Buffy tensed to step into battle, but was halted by Kendra's next words.

"Dolohov, go hurry them up."

Once again Buffy withdrew into a corner, but this time she drew her own wand. The Death Eater stalked right past her and Buffy waited until he was right next to the cupboard before whispering, "_Impedimenta._"

Impossibly slowly the Death Eater turned to face her, but by that time Buffy was right next to him whispering the stunning spell. Catching him as he fell she tossed him in the cupboard right on top of his friend and tied him up, too.

As she closed the door she heard a scream from the Great Hall. No longer concerned with stealth, Buffy didn't even think as she cast a jinx to make the doors bang wide open and stepped through.

All eyes turned to her, but Buffy only had eyes for the figure sprawled on the floor before Kendra.

Harry slowly dragged himself up, his gaze alternating between Buffy and Kendra. His lip was split and his nose bloody. At the Gryffindor table Ginny's hand was covering her mouth and Ron looked pale and worried. Buffy guessed it was Ginny who had screamed.

"At last she comes," Kendra said, without looking around. Buffy realised that she had no trace of her usual accent. "I thought you would appear if I hurt one of your friends and hurting Harry Potter is so rewarding." Buffy could almost hear the smirk. "Go, boy, and sit with your friends for now. I will decide what to do with you once I have dealt with this little problem." With that she gave what would be a gentle push for a normal person and Harry was sent staggering backwards.

Buffy's enhanced hearing picked up Draco Malfoy's titter. "Potter's getting beaten up by a girl."

"Ok, Kendra, you've made your point," Buffy said loudly. "I'm here. Now deal with _me_ and leave Harry out of it."

Still Kendra did not turn to face her. "I'm afraid you are under the delusion that you are my main target here, girl. Soon, you too, will be under my control and then I will have my way with Potter. Hermione Granger isn't it? Or Buffy Summers? A name for the witch and a name for the Slayer. It matters not. Whichever name you choose, you will be mine."

"Yours?" Buffy asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Not your Lords?"

Kendra threw back her head and laughed. It was a chilling sound devoid of any real mirth. "Oh, you really don't know how this works. Don't worry, you'll understand soon."

Finally Kendra turned to her. Buffy could not contain the gasp of shock that escaped her lips.

Kendra's eyes were a vivid red.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: Here it is at last. Sorry about the wait. Real life's a drag.

I know some of you have been asking for a Snape POV scene so I hope that was satisfying for you.

Points to anyone who knows where I got the demon's name and some of its characteristics from.

**Lightdemondarkangel** I think this chapter answers the 'is he scared' question, but not the 'why,' although some of you very smart readers might be able to guess where I'm going with that.

**Allen Pitt** The curse wasn't the whole reason, but it was a part of it. Angel still may leave her for other reasons after the end of this story, who knows?

**Silver Warrior** Who knows with those goblins? They're pretty bloodthirsty, maybe they played with it for a while before killing it.

**pstibbons** I think of Jenny as probably in her late twenties, early thirties, so a bit younger than Giles, don't know how old she actually is supposed to be though. In this story, yes she does. She's not really renounced her tribe, but she would if she had to. She feels that the Scooby Gang is doing good things and wants to help so she stayed. Plus, she loves Giles. I think she'd leave the tribe for him alone.

**spk** I'm fine now. The accident wasn't that bad. All the traffic pulled up very suddenly, but the guy behind us was too busy noticing what a nice car we have to pay attention so he hit us from behind. Unfortunately I was in the back seat and the boot was full and I absorbed the impact all up my back. It was unpleasant, but it's all cleared up now and when we get the insurance payout they'll be a nice sum of cash for me.

**CallaRose4ever** Now that would be telling. Snape is definitely on the Order's side as this chapter reveals, but he's still not exactly a nice guy. All will be revealed soon.

**stasa **Yes, he is. I love the idea of having big, bad Snape scared of tiny blonde Buffy/Hermione. That's one of the main reasons I decided to take Snape this way. I hope you like where this is going and I'm glad you're enjoying my fic so far.

Thank you to everyone else that reviewed. I really love to hear from you all so please don't forget to let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading.

Nat.


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer, nor do I own Harry Potter. If I did I could afford a new laptop and this chapter may not have taken quite so long.**

Chapter 24.

Buffy knew instantly that she wasn't talking to Kendra. This was Lord Voldemort.

"No," she whispered almost silently, but Voldemort had all the benefits of Kendra's Slayer side and easily heard her.

"No?" he mocked. "And why not? Your friend was destroyed the moment I took over. The girl you knew is dead and only Lord Voldemort remains."

With a supreme effort Buffy pulled herself together. This wasn't the time to lose it. "Now I know that's not true."

Voldemort paused as if to think about that. "I suppose you would at that. I have sensed you in her mind, but only in that piece of it that she still occupies. You know," he added almost conversationally. "This curse is really rather remarkable. It's a pity it only works on Slayers."

Buffy blinked in surprise. "I thought you could possess anyone you felt like. Quirell…"

"Was my servant. Unfortunately the human mind is too complex to simply beat back. If I am let in willingly I can stay there indefinitely, but if I am being fought I will be ejected. The mind's true owner will always win." His eyes drifted over to the Gryffindor table. "Unless, of course, there are special circumstances."

"So the curse forced her mind into one corner so you could come in and take over," Buffy deduced.

"Oh, well done, Miss Granger. I have always been told of your keen intellect. Too bad you are a filthy mudblood. You would have made a fine Death Eater if your blood was sufficiently pure."

Buffy shuddered in disgust. "I have the most powerful blood in the world," she told him. "That's why you're here isn't it? It doesn't matter that I'm muggle born. I have something that no one else in the world has."

"There are many of my enemies here. I think you overestimate your own worth."

"I don't," Buffy said. "Because you're not here for them, no matter what you say. Kendra's not enough for you is she? She's great in a fight, but she can't do magic. For that you need me. I'm the best of both worlds. Slayer and witch. Strength and power. I'd say you can't resist me."

Voldemort growled. It sounded wrong coming from Kendra's throat.

"I'll take that as a yes," Buffy smirked.

Voldemort sniffed. "It is a shame I will have to leave this one when I take you. We have done much together."

"So you can only control one at a time?" Buffy asked idly. "Good to know."

"And why is that?"

"Because I know that if you ever did manage to get to me there would still be one person out there capable of taking me down."

Buffy heard a few gasps from the students, but ignored them. Dumbledore looked like he was itching to intervene so Buffy shook her head at him. With a nod he stepped back. Some of the other teachers were watching this conversation with concern, mostly the ones who weren't part of the Order. Buffy was suddenly aware of the Death Eater sneaking up behind her.

"Do you want to die, Hermione?"

Buffy's eyes snapped back to Voldemort. "Better dead than your puppet," she said.

"Yes, my sources told me that you were a spirited girl. You'll be a challenge compared to this one. She was so docile. So _dead_ inside. It was like possessing an inferi. No mental strength, no willpower at all," Voldemort said nastily.

"You're wrong," Buffy said. "She's a Slayer. She has all the strength she'll ever need."

"And I have so enjoyed playing with her _physical _strength," Voldemort hissed. "But now it is time to move on. I suppose you have found a way to prevent my vampires from approaching or they would have been here by now. It is no matter, I would much rather do this myself."

"Really?" Buffy threw her head back hitting the Death Eater that had just reached her. She could hear his nose break even as she caught the arm that had made to grab her and flipped him over her head.

A few girls squealed as the Death Eater impacted with the hard floor.

"Idiots," Voldemort hissed. "Guard the door. Make sure none of the children escape. They won't want to miss this."

"Oh good, we're finally getting down to it," Buffy sighed. "The witty banter portion of the fight doesn't normally take _this_ long. You must really love the sound of your voice."

"Do not interfere," Voldemort ordered his Death Eaters. "She is mine."

With no further warning he rushed at Buffy, but his charge lacked any of the grace that Buffy associated with her own Slayer side and she easily sidestepped him. That was strange, she'd only fought Kendra briefly that time in the library but it was long enough for her to realise that she had that same superhuman agility, that way of moving that only a Slayer could possess.

Buffy spun on the spot to face him. Voldemort lunged again, but this time Buffy didn't move out of the way. Instead she grabbed his arm and twisted it up behind his back painfully, bending him forward so his nose was inches from the Ravenclaw table. It was a simple hold and Buffy knew that if the positions were reversed she would easily be able to get out of it. Unfortunately for him Voldemort didn't seem to know how.

"Interesting," she said loudly, before letting go and stepping back, dropping into a fighting stance.

Voldemort tried to mimic her position, but Buffy's trained eye picked out the flaws. Moving so fast she was almost a blur Buffy kicked out and up, sending Voldemort crashing into a wall on the far side of the Great Hall, where he slumped down to the ground before painfully picking himself up.

"What is… interesting?" he demanded, making his way back over to her.

"Nothing all that earth shattering," Buffy said in an amused tone. "I just realised that you are a complete idiot, that's all."

With an enraged snarl Voldemort pulled a knife from his robes and hurled it at her. Buffy didn't even blink as several people screamed in horror. Her hand shot up and plucked the knife out of the air as though it had been hanging there motionless, the point almost touching her shirt.

Gasps filled the room and Buffy heard McGonagall muttering the word, "impossible." She blocked it all out though and focused on the figure before her. Kendra's face was twisted into an expression of mingled rage and shock. "What?" Buffy said sarcastically. "Never seen a Slayer before?" She drew back her arm and threw the knife with all her Slayer strength.

Voldemort cried out and collapsed to the floor holding his leg. "Kendra could have caught that as easily as I did," Buffy pointed out. "It's a Slayer thing. We have amazing reflexes." She risked a glance to the Gryffindor table whilst Voldemort was preoccupied. She was glad to see that although her friends looked a little shaken and Harry was gingerly trying to stop the blood stemming from his nose, they were mostly intact. Ron's eyes were as wide as they could go and Buffy realised with a start that they'd never seen this side of her before. The part of her that kicked butt. They'd never even seen her train.

Turning her attention back to her fallen opponent Buffy saw that he had pulled the knife out of his leg and was nursing the wound. He glared at her coldly.

"You really brought this on yourself," Buffy told him. "How could anyone be that monumentally stupid? You're possessing a _Slayer._ One of the Chosen Two. She has more strength in her little finger than you have in your entire body. And that's it, isn't it? You focused so much on how strong she was that you forgot about the rest, the part that _really_ makes us special. Even worse than that, you didn't bother to even try and learn how to _use_ the strength that she has."

Voldemort just hissed loudly.

"Harry?" Buffy called.

"He said 'you will pay for that,'" Harry replied.

Buffy only nodded in return. "Go on then, make me pay."

Once again Voldemort made to run at her, knife in hand, but this time his movements were slowed by the wound on his leg. Deciding to show off a little Buffy somersaulted right over his head, landing neatly on her feet.

"See, this is what I'm talking about," she said sweetly. "A Slayer is so much more than physical strength. My _mother_ moves faster than you." She looked at him sadly. "You're so worried about the supposed superiority of purebloods that you can't seem to realise that the muggle you're possessing knows something worthwhile, something that you will never understand."

"I can look in her mind," Voldemort sneered. "I can pull the answers from her worthless brain."

"Not to this," Buffy said with a smile. "It can't be described with words. Watchers have spent millennia trying to teach this with no success. It's not their fault they failed. They don't even get it themselves. To understand it, you have to live it."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about what a Slayer really is," Buffy said with every bit of pity she could muster. "Trust me, you're not even close. You're just the man running around in a Slayer's head; you'll _never_ know the power that comes with the title. You'll never understand that her real power doesn't come from her body, but from her heart and soul."

Voldemort stared at her furiously. It looked like he might say something, but before he could get the words out tremors started wracking his body. His hands shook as he dropped the knife, grabbed his head and started to scream. The sound was wild, feral and utterly inhuman. Buffy fought against the instinct to cover her ears along with the other students and kept her eyes on her opponent. She was glad she did a moment later as she saw the red recede from Voldemort's eyes and Kendra slumped to her knees.

"Kendra?" she whispered.

Kendra's hands had moved from the sides of her head to her face. Her body still shook uncontrollably, but Buffy felt that it had changed subtly. The body before her now shook from her silent sobbing.

Buffy took a step forward, trying to block out the whispers from behind her as the teachers and students tried to decipher what was going on.

"Hermione," Harry called. "Be careful."

Buffy ignored him; her eyes were glued to the girl kneeling before her.

"Miss Granger, what is happening?" Dumbledore asked her. Under different conditions Buffy might have marvelled at the ancient wizard asking _her_ to explain something, but there was too much going on right now.

"Voldemort was possessing her," she said clearly, paying no attention to the gasps that filled the room at the sound of the Dark Lord's name. "I'm pretty sure he's gone right now. Kendra, can you hear me?"

Kendra raised her tear streaked face to meet Buffy's eyes. "I tried, Buffy," she sobbed. "I couldn't stop him."

"I know," Buffy said comfortingly, crouching next to her sister Slayer. "It's not your fault."

"I heard you," Kendra whispered through her tears. "I heard everything you said to him and I knew it was true. I knew I could fight him, even if it was only for a moment."

Buffy didn't know what to say to that. Gently she laid her hand on Kendra's arm.

"Don't touch me," Kendra snapped and pushed herself away from Buffy.

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked in alarm.

"I can't keep him out for long, the curse is still working," Kendra sniffled. "He'll come back and make me hurt you."

Buffy drew in her breath sharply. She'd been hoping that Voldemort had been expelled for good. "I won't let him hurt me," she promised. "Or anyone else here."

Kendra's eyes were bloodshot. Whether that was from her tears or a sign of Voldemort returning Buffy was unsure.

"He wanted to hurt the children," Kendra said brokenly. "That's what he told the vampires. They were going to get to eat them."

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore said at once.

"I _know_," Buffy said irritably. "Kendra, can you tell me how any vampires there are? I need to know if I'm going to protect these kids."

"Twenty," Kendra said with a whimper. "He has many more working for him, but he's keeping them in reserve."

Buffy nodded slowly. Twenty was more than she wanted to deal with in one go. Hopefully Angel would be able to handle it until she got there.

"Is there anything else you can tell me?"

Kendra shook her head. "Kill me, Buffy," she begged.

"No, Kendra, I can't." Buffy turned her head away sadly as Kendra's weeping was renewed, which was why she almost didn't react fast enough.

She had forgotten the Death Eaters at the back of the room. They'd been watching carefully this whole time and had obviously decided it was time to act. Some Slayer instinct told Buffy to move out of the way just as a green coloured curse impacted the tiles she had been sitting on.

Rolling to her feet Buffy spun to face them. "I really don't have time for you," she said.

"What have you done to our Master?" one demanded.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I haven't done anything, you moron. Weren't you listening?" She felt Kendra standing behind her and hoped that she'd shaken off her grief for now.

As the Death Eater raised his wand to curse her Buffy tensed to dodge, but there was no need. A red curse came from the far side of the hall to hit him squarely in the chest. Soundlessly, he fell to the ground.

Buffy wasn't surprised to see that it was Harry who had fired. His gaze was locked on the Death Eaters, his wand firmly in hand. Ron, Ginny and surprisingly Neville stood poised behind him.

Satisfied that her friends were watching her back Buffy turned to Kendra just in time. She twisted her upper body just as Voldemort made to stab her with the knife. As his arm passed her waist Buffy caught his wrist and forced it down, simultaneously bringing up her knee. The snap of bone was satisfying, but Buffy didn't stop there. Her free hand had already snagged his robes and she flipped him to land at the feet of his followers.

The glare that Voldemort directed at her was venomous. Buffy had every intention of following him to continue their fight when his hand slipped into his robes and he disappeared.

The four conscious Death Eaters shuffled nervously as if unsure what to do now. They each had a terrified expression on their faces as they looked at the girl who had just beaten their Master. Buffy's own disgruntled gaze was fixed on the spot that Voldemort had just left.

Buffy forced a scornful smile on her lips as she raised her eyes to meet that of the Death Eaters before her. Slowly she raised one eyebrow and tilted her head to the side in what she hoped was a calculating way.

It did the trick. All four Death Eaters followed Voldemort's lead and reached for their own portkeys. One paused long enough to touch his fallen comrade before disappearing.

With the visible threat gone for the moment Buffy allowed herself to breathe and look around. It was worse than the day all those months ago when she first came back to Hogwarts. Even Harry, Ron and Ginny were looking at her in awe. It was far worse from the other students though and even some of the teachers looked like they didn't know what to make of her. Dumbledore, of course, was smiling benignly as though nothing all that spectacular had happened and Buffy resisted the urge to scream at him.

She didn't have time for this. Turning to her three friends who at least seemed partially in control of themselves she gestured for Ginny's bag. "You got anything I can use?"

Ginny nodded and rummaged through her things before producing two stakes, a cross and a bottle of holy water. Buffy took the stakes, tucking one in her waistband and another up her sleeve, she also slipped the knife Voldemort had dropped in a boot. She left the cross and holy water, they wouldn't do much more than slow down a vamp anyway.

"Miss Granger, whatever are you doing?" It seemed McGonagall had regained her senses.

"I'm sorry, Hermione Granger had some homework to do in the library. She sends her regrets," Buffy said sarcastically.

"Can we come?" Ron asked eagerly.

Buffy sighed. Ron needed to remember that this wasn't some grand adventure. "No," she said shortly.

"Why not?" he whined.

"You'll get in my way, that's why."

"But we can help," Ginny said quietly.

"You have helped. A lot," Buffy assured them. "But none of you have had the training I have. You'll be walking to a slaughter."

Ron looked like he wanted to object, but Harry elbowed him in the side. "She's right," he murmured. "Magic doesn't work on vampires, remember."

Buffy's eyes cast about for anything else that she could use as a weapon when they fell upon Hagrid's huge crossbow. "Can I borrow that," she asked, pointing.

"Now, I doubt yeh'll be able ter lift that," Hagrid started. His voice trailed off as Buffy easily hefted the huge device onto a shoulder.

"Thanks," she grinned. "This is exactly what I need."

Without another word she headed for the doors.

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore called after her. "Hermione." Buffy just carried on walking. "Buffy Summers."

Buffy paused.

"What are you doing?"

"My job," was Buffy's only answer.

"Which is?"

Buffy couldn't believe he was being this dense. "There are about twenty vampires on the grounds. I'm going to go and kill them. What did you think I was doing?"

When there was no reply Buffy resumed walking. As she passed through the huge doors she called back over her shoulder. "By the way there are two Death Eaters tied up in the closet across the hall. Be a dear and start the interrogations without me, will ya?"

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As Buffy neared the gates she knew instantly that the vampires had dispersed. Most likely they'd gotten bred when they'd been unable to enter the grounds and had split up to find victims in the town. Hopefully Angel had managed to warn everyone in time.

"Buffy," a voice called from the nearby bushes.

"Angel," Buffy sighed in relief as she spotted him. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Angel assured her. His eyes were roving over her body as if checking for damage. "Kendra, is she…?"

"Voldemort," Buffy said succinctly. "It turns out that the curse is less like the _Imperious_ and more of a possession."

Angel didn't reply. His fingers brushed her arms, causing her to shiver. "You're alright?"

"Yeah," Buffy whispered. "It was hard, fighting her, even if it wasn't really her. They got away though. Portkeys. That's probably how they got in. I'll find out more later. First we need to deal with the vamps they brought here." Determinedly she began the trek to Hogsmeade, Angel right beside her.

"I cleared out the pub," Angel informed her. "Had to scare 'em off, but they should all be away by now. With any luck they'll know better than to invite anyone in after seeing a vampire trashing the place."

"You didn't!" Buffy exclaimed.

"I had to," Buffy almost missed the small smile on his lips. "They didn't believe me so I morphed and started turning over tables. They got the message pretty quickly after that."

Buffy laughed quietly.

Angel paused suddenly. "Spike's here," he said warily.

Buffy snorted. "Why doesn't that surprise me? Wanna go find out his excuse for not telling me about this?"

Angel took the crossbow from her hand and they started for the nearby village.

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It was almost an hour later. Buffy and Angel had been finding the vampires out in ones and twos and guessed they'd taken out over half of the forces sent here. Unfortunately there was still no sign of Spike.

"He's probably hiding somewhere," Buffy said disdainfully.

"Or maybe he's raiding madam Rosmerta's supply of Firewhiskey," Angel said from behind her.

Buffy followed Angel's gaze to the nearby pub and sure enough there was Spike, behind the bar and looking just a little bit pleased with himself as he rummaged around. "That stuff can't be good for a vampire," Buffy thought aloud.

"Spike's always been a little suicidal," Angel said.

The two entered the pub through the door that had been torn from its hinges and approached Spike from either side. He had clearly been drinking for a little while or he would have noticed.

"Aha!" he said loudly, pulling out a bottle of something Buffy didn't recognise. The jubilant expression soon slid off his face when Angel took his wrist.

"Peaches!" Buffy blinked in surprise at his greeting until she realised that he was referring to Angel. She'd have to ask him about that later. "And the Slayer, too. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Spike's words were a little slurred. Actually it was a miracle he was still coherent at all with the smell coming from him.

Buffy waved a hand in front of her face. "Care to tell use what you're doing, Spike?" she asked dangerously.

Spike waved the bottle under her nose until Buffy pushed him away. "Just having a bit of fun, Slayer. Don't be such a mood killer." He giggled. "You'll kill my mood. Probably kill me too, now I think on it."

"I'm leaning that way myself," Buffy said turning her nose up at him. "Right now, I'd definitely be doing the world a favour."

"You're no fun," Spike declared and poked her shoulder.

Angel twisted the arm he was still holding and forced Spike face down onto the bar. Luckily the surprise seemed to sober him up a bit.

"Voldemort attacked the school tonight," Angel hissed in Spike's ear. "And you were supposed to warn us about things like that. Why didn't you?"

"Ow! Let me go, you brute," Spike complained. "No one knew anything about it until we were given the marching orders. The big guy ain't one for sharing his plans."

"And when were you given those orders?" Buffy prodded him.

"Two nights ago," Spike whinged. "Oh, come on, Angel. We all know you aren't going to kill me. You _need_ me."

"What for?" Buffy said innocently. "You've already proven we can't trust you to do the job. If you'd told us about this even those two nights ago, we could have been prepared."

"Wait," Angel was frowning, deep in thought. "You _walked_ from Voldemort's hideout?"

"Vampires can't apparate, you big poof," Spike was beginning to struggle now, but was still too inebriated to force Angel away. "Portkeys are fine, but Voldyshorts decided to make us work for our food. Of course, I managed to steal a car, so…" His voice trailed off when he realised no one was listening to him. "What?"

Angel and Buffy were exchanging a significant look over his head. "Ok, Spike," Buffy said after a long moment. "We'll make a new deal. We'll let you live, if you draw us a little map."

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It had been a long night, Buffy decided as she re-entered the school the next morning. After convincing Spike to do what they needed they had let him go. She and Angel had then finished rounding up the vampires around Hogsmeade until the early hours of the morning. At that point they had headed to Giles' to check in and let him know what was going on. It had been five am by the time they had finished and Buffy had taken a quick shower to get rid of the vampire dust she felt sure she was covered with. When she had returned she was told that Willow and Angel were making a move before it started getting light. She had been disappointed, but knew it was necessary. After a tearful goodbye Buffy had seen them into the car, making sure there were plenty of blankets for Angel to hide under if they did need to keep driving once the sun was up.

Buffy had stayed to have an extremely early breakfast with Giles, Xander, Jenny and Joyce before returning to the school, tired and already beginning to miss Angel and Willow. Therefore she was not in the mood for the sight that greeted her when she entered the Great Hall.

It seemed the students had slept here the night before. It was still only six thirty in the morning and they were just waking up and beginning breakfast. Squashy sleeping bags were being traded for plates of eggs, bacon and toast.

As Buffy entered those who were already awake turned to stare at her. Sleeping students were prodded awake by their friends and they too, turned their bleary eyes towards her.

Buffy shifted her weight uncomfortably for a moment. She just wanted to sleep. She knew there were unanswered questions from the night before, but really, couldn't they wait?

She picked Hagrid out above the other students and headed for him. Wordlessly she handed him his crossbow.

The friendly giant grinned at her. "Yeh alrigh' then, Hermione?"

Buffy just nodded. "Thanks, Hagrid. The crossbow came in handy." 

"Yeh didn' really take on them vampires, did yeh?" Hagrid asked worriedly.

Buffy shrugged. "I did what I had to."

"Hermione," Ginny called from across the Hall and Buffy waved in return.

"I'd better go," she said apologetically before striding over to her friends.

"What happened?" Harry asked her at once.

"Vampires," Buffy summed up. "Dead vampires."

"Is that it?" Ron asked.

"No, there's more," Buffy replied tiredly. "It can wait. We'll talk later and I'll explain. This is neither the time, nor the place."

"Miss Granger," another voice said from directly behind Buffy.

After a night of fighting Buffy was naturally on high alert no matter how tired she was. That was why she whirled around so quickly, one hand straying to her waistband where a stake was still stashed.

She relaxed immediately when she realised it was only McGonagall. "Sorry, Professor. You startled me."

"Quite alright, Miss Granger," McGonagall said in her usual stern voice. "The Headmaster would like a few words with you."

"Tell him it will have to wait until I've slept, Professor," Buffy said unapologetically. "I've been up all night."

McGonagall pursed her lips tightly. "He only wishes to discuss how much you would like everybody to know. After the events of last night there are many questions left unanswered."

Buffy shrugged. "It's too late for anything but the truth. The Council's already gonna kill me for what happened last night if they ever find out. Tell Professor Dumbledore to tell them about the Slayers and what we're capable of. They need to know they can't fight Kendra if they come across her."

"Very well, Miss Granger," McGonagall agreed. "Go on up to the Gryffindor dormitories. The castle is safe enough now. You are excused from today's classes."

"Thank you," Buffy said gratefully.

With a sharp nod McGonagall swept off to inform Dumbledore.

"I'll see you later," Buffy called to her friends as she made her way from the Hall, ignoring the still staring students.

She barely made it up the first flight of stairs before she had to stop. Before her was the Bloody Baron, resident ghost of Slytherin House and he did not look happy.

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A/N: Well, I finally got it done. What with having to reformat my laptop and losing all previous chapters as well as the first quarter of this one it's been much longer than I expected it to be, but I got there in the end. I also had various job interviews this month, choreography to do and a cancelled wedding (not mine) to help un-organise. Well anyway, here it is and I hope you liked it.

**goddessa39** Muahaha! Some of your questions were answered in this chapter. You'll have to wait for the rest I'm afraid. I too, am very sad that Angel has left, but don't worry, he will be back.

**stasa** I am sorry. That's why I don't really like cliff-hangers. Sometimes they're necessary though. Spike was just being Spike, but he proved useful in the end. I was always building up to the possession; I can't believe no one guessed it beforehand.

**Lightdemondarkangel **Yup, Voldie is all those things. He got his comeuppance in this chapter though. No magic from him, that's why he wants Buffy still.

**iamkagomeiloveinuyasha** Unfortunately I had to get up and brush my teeth and then go to work that morning. I got there eventually though.

**CallRose4ever **I hoped some people would guess what was going on. He can only possess one and it has to be a Slayer. I wanted to limit it as much as possible so he couldn't just grab random people and possess them, besides, I don't think anyone could possess that many people in one go, wouldn't it get confusing?

**MirrorEarths** It was actually really fun to write the Snape scene. I really didn't think it would be. How the bad guys got in will be discussed in the next chapter, hopefully it's believable. I'm glad you like that. I really couldn't see Harry and co calling her Buffy or Xander and Willow calling her Hermione.

**rocks and glass** Thank you very much. You made me blush.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I really love to hear from you so please don't forget to drop me a line to let me know how you liked the chapter. Hope to hear from you soon.

Nat.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25.

"What now?" Buffy muttered to herself. All she wanted to do was sleep. Even a Slayer couldn't keep going forever without rest and lately sleep had been hard to come by. There was always so much to do if they were to have any chance of defeating Voldemort and his Death Eaters, not to mention pass their end of year exams. The OWLs were fast approaching for Buffy and Ginny and both girls were beginning to show signs of strain.

"A Slayer?" the Baron asked in a voice that sent chills down her spine. "They dare to send a Slayer here when the last one nearly wiped out our entire way of life?"

"No one sent me here," Buffy said irritably. "Professor Dumbledore made me come for my 'own protection.'" She used her fingers to contemptuously air quote the last two words. "What do you care anyway?"

The Baron rattled his chains at her. "A Slayer killed me."

"What?" Buffy gasped. "You mean… Sarah? The Slayer that was controlled by some megalomaniac centuries ago? _She_ killed you?"

"Her Master thought I was a danger to him, had his little pet track me down. Then she chained me down and tortured me for days before getting bored enough to kill me. By then it was a mercy."

Privately Buffy wasn't surprised to hear how he had died. It explained both his bloody appearance and his attitude to pretty much everyone.

"You know it wasn't really her, right?" she pressed. "She was possessed. Just like Kendra."

"Yes, more Slayer filth," the Baron snarled. "They said there could only be one. More lies! All they ever did was lie."

"Who lied?" Buffy wondered aloud. "The Watchers Council? Gotta say I'm not all that surprised."

"Monsters," the Baron hissed. "They claim to care for the life of the Slayer, but they are only concerned with power. They gave the dark lord the curse to use against the Slayer and then pretended to be outraged. He promised them the power they craved, said he could make them wizards and witches even tough he knew it was impossible and the Watchers believed him. They sacrificed their Slayer. After all, what was one girl compared to all that?"

Buffy's mouth hung open in horror. She wasn't particularly fond of the Council, but never thought that they would do something like that.

"The Watchers could have ended the curse at any time if they had truly wanted to. I know of only one that really tried and that was the woman who accompanied the girl here. I don't believe she knew of the ultimate plan. When the Ministry called in the demons to try and kill the girl the Watchers objected. It wasn't because they wanted to protect her as they claimed, I suspect it was only because they didn't want to sacrifice the next girl the same way.

"I was captured and killed only days before the curse was broken. Now a spirit, I followed the girl for a while. I was there when she was taken to the Ministry holding cell and I watched when she revealed to her Watcher how she had been saved. The girl was a blubbering mess by then, not the over confident beast she was while torturing me and I soon lost interest in her. My presence served to torture her, which is all I wanted and I encouraged her to end her own life.

Anger burbled up in Buffy's chest at that, but she restrained herself. What could she do to a ghost? Besides, she wanted to hear the rest of this story.

"I followed the Watchers then. The woman, Edwards I think she was called, was appalled when she heard that her own people had sold out her girl, she even threatened to quit. The others were far more interesting. They approached the Dark Lord for their reward, it seems, but he felt they had not yet earned it. He demanded they locate the next Slayer and turn her over to him immediately. They argued that they should receive at least some portion of the reward as incentive. It was then that they found out that it was impossible. Muggles cannot suddenly become magical.

"To say that they were outraged is an understatement. If they'd only turned their anger on him earlier so many lives could have been saved. It was they that finally ended the Dark Lord's life, by muggle means."

Buffy suddenly realised that with all their research into Sarah and the curse not one of them had ever wondered who actually killed the man responsible for all of it. This explained so much.

"The Watchers finally realised that they could not become part of our world and so in a fit of jealousy the head of the Council ordered the purge. Any mention of the Wizarding world was to be eradicated. Edwards reacted by saving as many diaries as she could and fleeing. I do not know what happened to her after that. Her last words to the Council were full of anger. She wisely stated that the next generations needed to be prepared that they needed to learn from their mistakes. Personally I believe that the Watchers didn't want any future Watchers or Slayers to hear that they had sold one of their own to the devil.

"I returned to Hogwarts after that. A similar purge was occurring here. The Ministry felt that the Slayer was too dangerous a creature to be trusted so they pretended that she didn't exist. Eventually everyone forgot. But not me. I remember the horror of those days. I remember the Slayer beasts."

Buffy put up her hand questioningly, not really wanting to end this very informative rant, but desperate to know something. "I get why you hate the Watchers Council, but why the Slayers? You know it was never Sarah that did any of those things, she was innocent."

"Innocent?" the Baron spat. "A girl who's power is so rooted in darkness she cannot see the nose on the end of her face. Tell me, do you think it right that so much power be given to one otherwise insignificant girl, the power to save the world or end it? It would be so easy for you to enter the Great Hall and kill them all, none there could stop you, not even the Headmaster. You answer only to the Watchers Council, people who would willingly send you to your death and you choose not to see that they aren't as bad as the evil you are supposed to fight."

"I may have abilities others don't, but Slayers aren't evil. We help people," Buffy insisted.

"And the other one, is she helping anyone right now? Only You-Know-Who," the Baron said scornfully. "What's worse is that so much power is entrusted to a muggle!"

"Hey!" Buffy said angrily. "I'm no muggle, I'm a witch."

"Mudblood."

"Oh, so that's it," Buffy retorted. "You're all upset 'cos you were killed by a muggle. Let me guess, you were a pure blood. I don't really know why she bothered killing you, I'm surprised you hadn't already signed on to their side."

"And that is what is truly wrong with the idea of a Slayer," the Baron said calmly. "You are just a girl. Emotional and high strung. Why, of all the people in the world is such a gift given to a teenager? Can you feel it? The fire burning in your veins, the urge to hurt me? Slayers, you are all alike."

"You're wrong," Buffy said her voice an icy whisper. "I may react like any other teenager when I feel insulted, but I'm not like most Slayers. They're cold, emotionless. They don't live in the same world as everyone else. They are taught from a young age to be cold and dead inside so that when the time comes they can throw away their lives without regret, because they were never really living them anyway."

The Baron eyed her doubtfully. "And their blind obedience to the Watchers?"

"Slayers like Kendra were raised by the Watchers," Buffy said. "They follow the only family they know."

"And you?"

Buffy smiled grimly. "I was raised normally. I didn't find out about Slayers until I was one. Right now the Council is redundant. They have no idea where either Slayer is. They don't know Kendra has been possessed and they probably won't until we resurface in the muggle world. The only Watcher that knows what is going on is mine and I trust him with my life. He would never use me like you're implying, he's risked his life for me many times."

The Baron sniffed.

A sudden noise startled Buffy and caused her to spin around. At the bottom of the stairs stood a group if Hufflepuffs who were staring at her in awe. Dismissing them easily Buffy turned back to face the Baron, but he had gone.

"Darn ghosts," she muttered to herself as she continued her interrupted journey to her bed.

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It was much later in the day when Buffy awoke. Groggily she looked at her watch and realised she could either catch the last class of the day or go and meet Dumbledore. As she dressed in casual clothes she let her mind wander back to what she had heard that morning. She had lain awake in bed for over an hour despite her tiredness, wondering how much she could trust the Barons words. He had no reason to lie to her, that she knew of, unless he had planned to alienate her from the Council, but she was already estranged from them anyway and had never trusted them as far as she could throw them, apart from Merrick and Giles.

Would Merrick have known about any of this? He had always been so mysterious about his past. How had he come to belong to both worlds? As far as she knew he was the only person apart from her to ever belong to both the Council and the wizarding world. How had he found out about the Council if he had been raised a wizard? Unless he had been a muggle born, like her and born into a family of Watchers, like Giles. Would Giles know?

Still lost in thought Buffy wandered in the direction of the Headmaster's office. She suddenly became aware of herself as she stood before the gargoyle that protected the entrance. McGonagall hadn't told her the password.

Annoyed at herself for not getting it first Buffy placed hr hands on her hips and faced the gargoyle. "I expect you've heard who I am by now," she said in a conversational tone.

The gargoyle actually blinked at her.

"In which case, you know it would be in your own best interest to get out of my way."

With a shudder the gargoyle swung aside.

"Thank you," Buffy grinned to herself. Who needed a password?

At the top of the spiral staircase she knocked on the door and waited. After a second she heard a voice call, "Come in," and entered.

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A/N Yes, I am aware that it is very short, but this is not the whole chapter. Unfortunately I am going into hospital tomorrow for a fairly serious operation and will most likely not get out before Sunday, if then. As I doubt I will want to sit and write afterwards as I will still be in pain for quite some time, (the operation is on my stomach and sitting to type may be uncomfortable for a few weeks) I decided to post what I already had, along with an explanation for my disappearance. I will be back and when I am I will replace this chapter with the full version and will also reply to your reviews. I also have a bit more of On the Run, but there is even less of that than there is of this. Please ignore any typo's in this as I haven't even reread it myself yet and there are a couple of bits that may be a bit rough. Like I said, this is not the finished version.

Wish me luck! Dozy.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26.

Buffy entered the room with all the confidence she could muster. Despite everything Dumbledore could still make her feel like the nervous, yet overeager girl she had been at eleven. She refused to be cowed by him any longer.

"Miss Granger," the old man behind the desk greeted her warmly. "Please take a seat."

Buffy sat before him. Standing to one side of the desk was Professor McGonagall, her usual stern expression in place.

"Perhaps we should begin with your apology," she said primly.

"My apology?" Buffy said incredulously. "For what? Saving your lives?"

"For the disrespectful way you spoke to the Headmaster before leaving the castle without permission."

Buffy stared at her unblinkingly for a long moment. "No," she said at last "I will not apologise, because you have to understand just how important my job is. If I had stopped to _respectfully_ explain things, then people in the village would have died. Would you have given me permission to leave had I asked for it?"

"Of course not, "McGonagall spluttered. "You are a student here. As such, you must follow certain rules."

"I am also a Slayer," Buffy retorted. "As such, I have a responsibility that transcends any rule you can think of. I can't sit in this castle, all safe and secure, while people are _dying_, not when I can save them. There was enough death last night, if I hadn't gone there would have been more."

"As I said before, Minerva," Dumbledore intervened. "An apology is not necessary. There will be no punishment."

McGonagall pursed her lips, but did not object. It was obvious, though, that she disapproved of Dumbledore's decision.

Buffy opened her mouth to speak, but Dumbledore raised a hand, forestalling her.

"First, I want you to know that the students have all been told about your unique status, as you requested. Be forewarned that you may now be the recipient of much more attention tan you are accustomed to."

"I was kinda expecting that," Buffy shrugged casually.

"It is also likely that it will appear in the papers within a few days. I wanted you to be prepared."

Buffy nodded, but her mind was already on other matters. "How did they get in anyway?"

"They walked in," Dumbledore told her. "Your friend, Kendra, possessed by Voldemort led the way. We have all heard what she is capable of so when she began issuing threats we took her seriously."

"Why didn't you know they were coming? You could have warded the door to keep them out."

Dumbledore observed her from over his steepled fingers. "Voldemort knows magic that I do not," he confessed. "He hid himself and his Death Eaters until the moment they entered the Great Hall."

"So can they get in the same way again?" Buffy frowned when Dumbledore didn't answer. "You_ have_ to do something about that."

"It is not your place to make such demands of the Headmaster," McGonagall began.

"Next time I might not get there I time," Buffy said hotly. "You have to make sure that this can't happen again."

"Alas," Dumbledore said in that quiet way of his that never failed to get everyone's attention. "The Goblins have only just returned home after erecting the last set of wards. Now, I fear, I must call them back again."

Buffy sank back into her seat, wondering exactly when she had risen from it. "That's not the reason I came."

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"So." Ginny was almost bouncing in her seat. "What now?"

Classes were over for the day and the Gryffindors had been let back into their common room. Buffy had entered to find everyone still eagerly discussing the night before. Little Dennis Creevey had been staring at her avidly and several suspicious flashes had her looking for his brother Colin. Eventually she'd had enough and dragged her friends to the Room of Requirement for some peace and quiet.

"We've still got a lot of work to do," Ron said excitedly. "This is finally happening." He was watching Buffy who had required a punching bag to help her work out her frustration.

"Actually we do have work to do, but not the kind you're thinking," Buffy corrected him.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked with raised eyebrows.

Buffy sighed heavily and turned to face the others. "After I spoke to Dumbledore I went to Giles'. He thinks they can handle it for a while. He's looking into banishment spells, Jenny's translating the soul curse and Xander's eating all the food my mother can bake."

"What are we supposed to do?" Ginny asked resentfully. "I thought we were supposed to be part of this."

"We are," Buffy assured her. "But OWLs start in a week and the boys have exams too. We need time to study or we'll fail. Angel and Willow should be back by the time they're over and we can't do anything 'til then anyway. By then the guys should have everything ready so we can end this. All the pieces are in place. Right now, all we can do is study."

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What followed was a week of such intense studying that even Buffy felt as though her head was about to explode by the end of it.

The OWLs began on Monday morning and continued for two weeks. Buffy was also required to take the sixth year exams to ensure she was up to date with her year group. When she took her DADA test she was amazed by the lack of animosity directed at her from Snape. He was almost professional. It was as though he were afraid of antagonising her. It made her wonder if she'd hit the nail on the head at the Order meeting. Was he afraid of her?

As expected, an article had appeared in the _Daily Prophet_ with the details of the fight in the Great Hall and someone from Hogsmeade had been interviewed on what he had seen. Many of the students had spoken about Buffy and what they had been told about her afterwards. It startled her to realise that right now she was almost as famous as Harry.

Buffy took a break from studying the night before her final exam. She only had History of Magic left, one of her best subjects. Normally she would have studied regardless, but tonight she had something more important to do.

It started with a mirror call from Giles that had her running to Hogsmeade with Harry and Ron on her heels. Only Ginny remained behind. Not as confident on history as Buffy, she felt unable to lose her last few hours of revision time.

Buffy paused on seeing Giles' house before her and the dark figure sitting on the doorstep waiting for her. "Angel," she breathed and hurried towards him.

Angel stood as she approached. "Hi," he whispered as she flung herself into his arms. He laughed a little at her enthusiasm. "I missed you, too." He bent to kiss the top of her head.

Buffy pulled back slightly, wanting just to look at him. "It's been forever."

Her arms tightened around his neck as he pulled her closer and lowered his lips to hers. The kiss was passionate, hot despite the coldness of his touch and Buffy never wanted it to end. She remembered telling him, months and months ago now, that when he kissed her she wanted to die and right now she felt she_ would_ die if he stopped.

He broke away eventually, but didn't let her go. Buffy's breathing was erratic and she was sure her hair was mussed, but right now she didn't care. Angel was back.

A throat was cleared, startling them both. Buffy leaned around Angel to see a very embarrassed looking Giles standing in the doorway.

"Yes, um, well," he stumbled over the words. "If you'd like to come inside we can get started."

As he disappeared back into the house Buffy had to bury her face in Angel's chest to hide her laughter. "I think we broke him," she giggled.

"You might be right," Angel commented dryly. He took her hand and led her into the house.

Buffy was surprised to see Harry and Ron sitting with the others when they entered the library. The last time she'd seen them they'd been some way behind her.

"How did you get here ahead of me," she asked in confusion.

"You were busy," Harry replied evasively.

"We slipped past you when you were snogging," Ron clarified bluntly. "You must've been really into it if you didn't notice us."

"Yes, thank you for that," Giles said loudly. "Now if we could please steer this conversation to the matter at hand we just might be able to stop the bad guys."

"Yeah," said Xander snidely, pulling a face at Buffy.

Buffy sighed. "When did saving the world become such a chore?"

"Now, now, Buffy," Xander said in a fair imitation of Giles. "Saving the world is your sacred duty, your responsibility if you will. It is not a chore."

Willow snorted loudly.

"The world is doomed," Giles said theatrically, throwing his hands up in the air. "Now, please, can we focus?"

"Ok, ok," Buffy agreed. She turned to Willow. "Good to have you back, Will. We missed you."

"I missed you guys as well," Willow grinned. "That's not to say Angel wasn't good company, 'cos he was, but it's not the same, you know? And now I'm feeling guilty 'cos I'm still talking about non-demony things and Giles wanted to get to work, but then Angel is a vampire, which is technically a demon, but that vein's starting to appear on Giles' forehead, so I'll shut up now."

Silence followed Willow's speech.

"Who gave her coffee?" Buffy demanded.

"I thought she'd need something to keep her awake after her trip," Giles said, anxiously eyeing Willow.

"You've known her for over a year now, G-man," Xander said, shaking his head. "Willow's naturally perky, she doesn't need perky pills to get her through the day."

"I'll be quiet," Willow volunteered. "Won't say a thing."

Buffy looked to Angel. "So did you get it?"

"Yups," Willow said eagerly. Her face fell as everyone turned to look at her. "I'll let Angel tell it."

Even Angel's lips quirked at that, it was impossible not to smile with Willow around.

"Not much to tell," the vampire said softly. "Willow managed to track the demon down near Dublin and I killed it. We didn't want to try dissecting it in the inn we were staying at so I cut off its head and we brought the whole thing back."

"We'll get right on that," Giles said promptly. "Willow perhaps you can help me. " He frowned at her. "In the morning."

"'Kay," she said excitedly.

"I have managed to find a simple banishment spell that when mixed with the venom should free Kendra," Giles continued. "Jenny has, with some difficulty, completed the translation she was working on. I really think we will be ready very soon."

"There's just one problem," Jenny said nervously. "We have everything we need for the curse to work, except an Orb of Thessulah."

"What's an orb of Thelusaur?" Xander queried. "Sounds like a type of dinosaur. A dinosaur orb." He looked around gleefully. "Is it a dinosaur egg? 'Cos that would be cool. LikeJurrassic Park."

"Thessulah," Jenny repeated slowly.

"It's a spirit vault," Buffy explained. "It can store souls."

Xander gave her a blank look.

"What?" she demanded. "I keep telling you, I used to be a bookworm."

"Still are, judging by this week," Ron muttered.

"Excuse me, Ronald Weasley," Buffy said incredulously.

"She really was the biggest bookworm," Harry said. "Her answer to everything has always been the library. People are being petrified by some unknown monster; she goes to the library. A reporter is spying on us and we don't know how; she goes to the library."

"You know, I've noticed that same thing," Xander said lightly, looking around at the brimming bookshelves. "And now she's dragged us down with her."

"Why are you all picking on me instead of having the serious meeting that Giles keeps harping on about?" Buffy asked plaintively. "And hey, I thought that prophecy ball was an Orb of Thessulah. We just need to get rid of what's already in there."

Giles regarded her for a long moment. "Of course."

"Don't we all feel stupid," Xander said mockingly.

"Yes, well, Buffy you must speak with Professor Dumbledore again." Giles reached into a desk drawer and spread a sheet of paper across the table in front of them. "This is the map that Spike provided us with; can anyone think of any alterations to the plan?"

No one answered and Giles nodded approvingly. "Very good. Buffy, you have an exam tomorrow, so you had best return to school. We'll reconvene here Saturday morning?"

"Saturday's good," Buffy agreed. "I think it's time we ended this. We can't get much more prepared than we already are. The plan is good, people. I know we can do this." She felt everyone's eyes on her as they all thought about what Saturday would bring. "Get some rest. None of you will do any good if you're too tired to think straight."

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A/N: Don't hate me for another short chapter. I've only been well enough to sit and type for the last week or so and this is all I've managed to do since then. This is where chapter 25 would have ended anyway, it's just been split into two. I decided not to repost chapter 25 and just leave it as it was.

I just wanted to say thank you to all the people who wished me well after my operation. I'm not completely recovered, yet. The doctors told me it could take up to 12 weeks, but I'm well on my way.

Hopefully the next chapter won't be quite as long a wait. We're nearly at the end now. At the most four more chapters and a prologue.

Thanks again to all my well wishers.

Nats.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27.

Saturday morning dawned and a nicer day Buffy couldn't have hoped for. It actually reminded her somewhat of typical Californian weather and she was heartened by it. This brief reprieve would strengthen them all before the night ahead. Buffy spent the day enjoying the fact that exams were over and lazing by the lake with her friends. It was almost the perfect day.

As soon as it was dark Buffy had gone to see Professor Dumbledore and he had followed her down to Giles' where a whole host of other people were waiting. Every Order member Buffy had ever seen and many more, Giles and all her friends from Sunnydale as well as a few Hogwarts ones, Fred and George Weasley, Tonks and even her mother. It seemed Dumbledore had approached the Ministry after their talk the other day and the result had been full Auror participation. Not only that, but there were a large number of goblins scattered about.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I'm coming too," Joyce said casually.

"No, you're not," Buffy said forcefully. "I can't protect you every moment. You need to stay here."

"No, Buffy," Joyce said, raising a hand to brush a strand of hair from her daughter's face. "I'm going to be there. Willow needs someone to help her with the spells and things and I can't stay here and worry while you're out there risking your life. I just can't, honey."

"Mom, please…"

"My decision is made," Joyce said finally.

Buffy stared at her, aghast.

"Buffy," Giles called and motioned her over to where he was speaking with Dumbledore.

Buffy stormed over to him. "Exactly _wh_o told my mother she could come along?"

Giles blinked. "Your mother's coming to help Willow. One of the, uh, spells she will be working requires assistance. Jenny will also be with them."

"Did you forget that Willow is on _my_ team? Which will be in the middle of a _battlefield_?"

"They will be protected," Giles said soothingly. "It's all been taken care of. Now, I have the items you needed ready in the library as well as some weapons. Take what you need and then we should be ready to be off."

"Fine," Buffy snapped. "But I am holding you personally responsible for her safety."

Buffy headed to the library. As promised the weapons were laid out upon the table. Angel was standing over them, checking sharpness and balance. "Hey," he greeted her when she entered.

"Hey, yourself." Buffy hugged him tightly. "You ready for this?"

"We're as prepared as we can be," Angel said, holding her gently. "You've done a good job."

"Yeah, well let's hope its good enough," Buffy replied distractedly as she eyed the weapons. "A lot of people are going to die today, on both sides and I'm the one leading them."

"That doesn't make it your fault if they die."

Buffy spun to face the door, a sword in her hand. She relaxed almost instantly when she saw it was just Harry.

"I came to collect my sword," he told her. "I heard you talking and I just wanted to say that I know how you feel. After the Ministry last year I blamed myself for all the injuries my friends got and for Sirius, but I know now that it wasn't my fault. They chose to follow me, just like all the people out there choose to follow you today. You're not forcing anyone to do anything. They're responsible for themselves."

Buffy stared at him for a long minute. "When did you get so smart?"

Harry shrugged. "Probably around the time you left and I had to start using my own head instead of relying on yours."

Buffy smiled fondly. "I think this is yours," she said handing the sword in her hand to Harry. "Do some damage with it, won't you."

"I will," he agreed and left her alone with Angel.

Angel handed her a sheath and dagger. "This knife is coated with the venom we took from the Poledra demon," he said. "You know what to do with it."

"I do." Buffy took it from him and strapped it around her waist for easy access. She also took a sword of her own and a few stakes which she hid in her clothing. Then she and Angel, who had already armed himself, rejoined the others.

"Ok, people," Buffy said loudly as she entered the sitting room. She hopped up onto a chair so everyone could see her. "We're about to go to Voldemort's lair. When you get there don't expect to see the structure itself, we think it's hidden behind a _fidelius._ What you can expect is lots of Death Eaters, vampires, maybe some werewolves and Dementors. Don't hold back. This is war and today you aren't teachers or students, Aurors or petty criminals, parents or children. You are warriors and you are facing the deadliest of opponents. It is kill or be killed. That said, _don't die_. I expect to see all of you at the party afterwards.

"Find the other members of your team now." Buffy waited while the people around her sought out their groups. When the noise died down again she continued. "Your team leader will let you know what is expected of you when you get there. We know this doesn't give you much time to prepare, but we couldn't risk word of this getting back to Voldemort." A shudder ran through the crowd at the name. "Your team leader has your portkey. They will activate in exactly," she checked her watch. "One minute. This is it. We're fighting for our families and our friends and we _will_ be the ones left standing."

Buffy jumped down and made a beeline for her team, removing the portkey from her pocket as she did. "Everyone touch the portkey," she instructed. Her team consisted of Willow, Jenny, Xander, Madame Pomfrey and her mother as well as a couple of Aurors Buffy didn't know and two goblins.

The portkey activated.

Buffy and her group reappeared in what seemed to be a large field, but she knew better. Somewhere, very close to here was Voldemort's hiding place and they were about to ring the bell.

"How long will this take?" Xander asked, shivering in the cool night air.

"Not long," Buffy replied. "The goblins are professionals. They'll pull the wards down and then we'll be able to see the place. I'm pretty sure Voldemort will know right away."

"And you think he'll come out as Kendra?" Willow had already started setting up her gear in a secluded corner with Jenny and Joyce's help. The goblins in the group were hurriedly erecting wards around her. They should be impenetrable and keep the three women safe while they worked.

"She's his most powerful weapon," Buffy said confidently. "She'll be the first out."

Buffy's group was the one nearest to where they thought the entrance would be based on Spike's maps. Willow needed a good position, where she could see what was going on to know when to cast her spells and Buffy had to be on hand to fight Kendra. The others were there to protect the spell-casters and Xander refused to be separated from his two girls. The goblins would be inside the wards with Willow, Joyce and Jenny to maintain them and strengthen them if necessary.

In the darkness Buffy could see the other groups setting up. Her enhanced Slayer hearing allowed her to hear that the team leaders, Giles, Fred and George, Angel and Tonks, were briefing their teams. About twenty yards away she spotted Angel's familiar form with Harry, Ron, Ginny and some Aurors. She waved hesitantly, not wanting to distract anyone, but needing to at least acknowledge them. Only Angel raised a hand in reply. Probably he was the only one who saw her in the darkness.

"When will we get some light?" Joyce asked in a whisper. "I can barely see my hand in front of my face."

"As soon as the wards are down," Buffy murmured back.

Willow appeared to be all set up. She came up to Buffy and hugged her quickly. Xander's arms snaked around the two and they stood there, just enjoying these last peaceful moments together.

Finally Buffy pushed away. "You guys better be alright. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Before they could answer the whole sky seemed to shimmer and a huge, looming house appeared before their eyes. Moments later lights flickered into being all over the grounds and an inhuman shriek filled the air.

"I think Voldemort just found out we're here," Buffy said grimly.

"Here we go," Xander hefted the axe he had brought along in one hand.

Buffy looked at him appraisingly. "Xander, no matter what happens I don't want you to get between me and Kendra," she told him. "Promise me."

Xander blinked. "Are you kidding?"

"I'm serious," Buffy said. "This is between me and her. If you get between us you could get hurt and I don't want anything to happen to _her_ either."

"Ok," Xander agreed. "I swear I'll stay out of it."

"Thanks." Even as Buffy said it the huge front door was flung open and a familiar figure stormed out.

"Showtime," Buffy grinned humourlessly.

She strode confidently to face the approaching figure, leaving the sword behind with Xander and the Aurors. It would only get in the way for this particular fight.

"Buffy Summers," Kendra hissed. "I grow tired of you."

"I was tired with you the first time we met," Buffy quipped back. "Yet I found myself with this strange urge to seek you out and kick your butt again."

"You will find I am not quite as unprepared as I was when last we met," Kendra snarled. She took a knife from her belt and dropped into a fighting stance. Buffy noted that it was much better than before and groaned inwardly. Voldemort had likely learnt from their last meeting and practised.

Buffy mirrored her position, but left her own knife where it was. She didn't want the venom on the blade to be exposed to the air for too long; it would need to stay where it was until the last second.

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Giles watched anxiously as his Slayer approached the other. They should be reasonably matched in strength, but he was sure Buffy had superior knowledge and experience.

"Mr Giles?" It was Tonks. "Are you sure she'll be alright?"

"She has faced far worse," Giles said with a confidence he did not feel. After all this had never happened before. Slayer against Slayer; it was unheard of. He was sure his colleagues at the Council would pay to see something like this, but he couldn't help the uneasy feeling in his chest as he watched the two girls converse. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but if he knew Buffy it would be something to set this Voldemort's teeth on edge.

Giles' team was by far the largest. They were the cavalry for fighting the vampires. Anyone with experience of physical fighting was here, including most of the Goblin forces, armed to the teeth with swords, axes and crossbows. There was even a mace or two about. When Voldemort sent out the undead this would be the team that charged in. He only hoped they were ready, armed as they were with stakes, crosses and holy water, hardly any of these people had ever faced an actual vampire before.

They girls were fighting now. Buffy was moving with all the grace he had come to expect from her as she swayed away from a knife thrust. Kendra, while nowhere near as skilled as Buffy was doing well. It was not the easy fight Buffy had expected.

"Mr Giles, can you help me with this?" a young Auror asked.

Giles tore his eyes away from the action to see the man holding out a squirt gun and some holy water.

"It's an idea I just had," he smiled wryly. "I'm a muggle-born you see. When I was a kid we used to play with these," he held up the squirt gun. "I thought it might be useful. It might make the vampires think twice at least. Maybe we can even scare some of them off."

"Ingenious," Giles murmured and helped him load the squirt gun. "Perhaps you could go and help some of our less confident people do the same thing."

The Auror actually saluted him. Giles stood up straighter and nodded.

A gasp ran through the crowd of onlookers. Giles spun about to see Buffy knocked off her feet by Kendra, who then followed up with a wild stabbing motion.

Buffy rolled away and straight up to her feet. Giles let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. That girl would be the death of him.

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Fred couldn't believe it. Tiny little Hermione Granger, the girl he had teased for being too serious about schoolwork and rules, was in a fight to the death with another beautiful woman. A knife glinted between them as they dodged and kicked, leaped and punched. It was truly amazing. No, sexy was what it was.

He had been assigned to what they were dubbing the 'Cool Crew.' He and George had named all of them actually, from the 'Action Men' where Tonks and Mr Giles were to the 'Magic Team' with Willow and Hermione. Judging from Mr Giles' reaction their contribution wasn't all that welcome, but they were prepared to be martyrs for the cause so had kept on with it until he had given in.

To make things even better he and George were the team leaders. He had thought Hermione was insane when she suggested them, but apparently she wanted someone from their core group to be in charge as there wouldn't be much time to brief the Order members, Aurors or Goblins, also known as the 'Ward Smashers.'

The Cool Crew was the group responsible for taking on the Death Eaters and the Dementors. All the most proficient magic users were here, including Dumbledore himself. Obviously that was why they were the Cool Crew.

"Who knew she had it in her," George said from beside him. Or maybe that was Fred and he was George, one never really knew.

"If she wasn't seeing that Angel guy I think I would ask her out," Fred replied.

The two watched as Hermione pirouetted around Voldemort-in-a-hot-body and kicked him in the stomach.

"You think she likes twins?" George asked idly.

"I was just wondering the exact same thing," Fred said, sighing.

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Buffy twirled out of her opponents reach and took a moment to assess the situation. This was taking entirely too long. At least the real Voldemort hadn't decided to send out reinforcements yet, she needed to take out Kendra before he did.

She moved back into the fight. Kendra was every bit as strong as she was and as fast. Fortunately in the few weeks since their last encounter Voldemort hadn't managed to get in enough practise to match her, but he was good enough to stop her from closing in and finishing it.

As she blocked another blow she glanced over Kendra's shoulder to see that Willow had a book in her arms and was watching her intently. She seemed to be speaking to herself or perhaps chanting.

Her moment of distraction cost her dearly as Kendra knocked her off her feet. Kendra brought up her knife to stab Buffy, but she had already rolled out of the way by the time she had finished the motion.

Buffy got to her feet and whirled around her opponent, kicking her squarely in the solar plexus. Kendra doubled over and gasped for breath. This was it. But before she could even draw her knife from its sheath Kendra was moving again.

They circled each other warily before they both leaped back into the fray.

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Harry had seen Hermione fight before, of course, but that time in the Great Hall had been nothing like this.

His best friend was poetry in motion. Every action blended smoothly into the next. It was like a perfectly choreographed dance as they twisted around each other, arms and legs flashing out to strike then pulled back to block an attack.

He stood and watched with Angel, Ginny and Ron at his sides. They were what Fred and George had dubbed the 'Voldy Busting Squad.' Hermione had shortened it to V.B.S. They had the hardest job of all and it would start the moment Voldemort sent out his forces from inside the manor house. Angel would protect them from vampires and the like, while Ron and Ginny took on any Death Eaters they might happen across. Mrs Weasley thought their team name stood for 'Very basic Surveillance," the best Ron could come up with in a short amount of time. If she knew what they were really doing she would have never allowed them to come, instead she thought they were just here to watch. She still hadn't been happy, but had let them come without too many comments. When this was over she could yell at them all, but at least they were here.

Beside him Ginny gasped as Hermione seemed to fly over Kendra's head to land behind her and draw her own knife even as she turned and tried to plunge it into the other girls unprotected back.

"I never get tired of watching this," Angel said quietly.

Harry glanced up at him. His eyes glinted in the conjured light as they focused entirely on the girl they all loved in their own way. "She's amazing."

Hermione definitely had the upper hand now. Kendra was tired and bleeding from multiple abrasions. Hermione seemed almost unaffected apart from the light cut running across her arm when she had misjudged a swipe.

"Come on, Buffy," Angel murmured.

Harry added his own prayers. She could do this.

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Xander watched keenly as his friend fought. He mimicked some of her dodges and punches trying to get a feel for them. Buffy really was amazing. They all forgot that somehow at the Hellmouth, when things started going to Hell Buffy would just fix things, because that's what she did. They never really stopped to think about _how_ she fixed it and how special she was.

Willow gripped his hand tightly. She had a book in the other hand which she glanced to when she wasn't watching the fight. She kept murmuring the words of the Banishment spell over and over, trying to memorise them.

"What if I mess it up?" she asked tearfully. "Kendra won't be free and everything will go wrong and it will be all my fault?"

Xander pulled her close and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Buffy has faith in you," he told her soothingly. "And so do I. We know you can do it."

Willow gave him a timid smile. "I hope so."

Xander flinched as Buffy kicked the knife out of Kendra's hand to send it spinning through the air to land only a few feet away from him. He let his arm fall from Willow's shoulders as he ran the five paces forward to grab it and then jog back to his team.

Buffy had Kendra on the defensive now. She kicked and punched and on one occasion even head-butted and all Kendra could do was block what she could. Then, with a final thrust, Buffy drove the knife deep into Kendra's abdomen.

"Now, Willow," Xander yelled.

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Buffy plunged the dagger into Kendra's stomach and stepped back. She heard Xander yelling at Willow, but all she could do was stare. This was her sister Slayer and Buffy had just stabbed her. Blood oozed from the wound and soaked Kendra's clothes. As Buffy watched Kendra grabbed the hilt of the knife and pulled it out. She brandished it in one hand while holding the wound in the other.

"You think that was enough to kill me, girl?" she snarled. "My healers will fix this in moments and then I will have you killed." Kendra began to back slowly towards the building behind her, but stopped suddenly. Her eyes flashed with fire and her head turned to face Willow who held the book before her and was chanting loudly and clearly.

Kendra's expression was unreadable. Perhaps Voldemort recognised what they were trying to do, or maybe the spell was already starting to work. Whatever it was Kendra began to stumble towards Willow still clutching the knife and her wound. She was already starting to succumb to the fast acting venom, her face was pale and she was dripping sweat.

Buffy ran to intercept her, unseen by her so did Angel. As Buffy placed herself between her friends and Kendra, Willow continued to chant.

Kendra let out a frustrated cry. "I will not leave this body," she screamed and hurled the knife with all her strength at Willow.

Angel put on a last burst of speed and jumped in front of Willow, shielding her. He grunted as the knife impacted his chest, penetrating his heart.

Buffy didn't hear the rest of Willow's incantation as her heart froze. A knife through the heart wouldn't kill a vampire, but it would be painful and slow him down when the real fighting started and that knife would still have traces of the venom in it. As much as she wished she could go to him, she knew she couldn't yet.

The blood seemed to drain from Kendra's face as the spell started to work. Her limbs shook slightly and she closed her eyes tightly. A moment later she fell to the floor and Buffy risked a few steps forward.

"Kendra?"

The other Slayer's eyes opened and Buffy breathed a sigh of relief. Her irises were no longer red, but brown. She was Kendra again.

And she was sobbing. Buffy took the last couple of strides and dropped to her knees beside the shaking girl. "Ssh. It's ok. He's gone and he can't come back," Buffy whispered soothingly. "Madame Pomfrey," she yelled desperately. "We need you." She laid Kendra on her back as gently as she could. "We've got a healer here. She's gonna fix you up. You'll be fine."

Buffy had never been more impressed with the medi-witch. Without even pausing to ask if they were sure it had worked she got down to business despite knowing that Kendra had been little more than a vessel for Voldemort's spirit for quite some time.

While she worked Buffy went to check on Angel. The knife had already been removed and tossed aside, but Angel looked to be in bad shape. He was clutching his wound tightly with one shaking hand, his forehead was covered in sweat and his eyes looked unfocused.

"It's the venom," he muttered. "It won't kill me, but it sure does sting."

Buffy pried his hand away to check his wound. "Find someone to dress that," she instructed Xander who was hovering nearby. "Unfortunately we can't use magic to heal him so he'll have to do it the old fashioned way."

"No time," Angel grunted. "I imagine Voldemort's main forces will be out any second and I've got a job to do." He tried to stand.

"Not anymore you don't" Buffy disagreed, pulling him back down. "You've been benched."

"But what about…"

"I'll take care of it," Buffy assured him. "I want you to stay here. Willow's almost ready to start the soul curse and she'll need someone around who's good in a fight. If any vamps come close you take care of them."

Angel nodded painfully. Buffy leaned over and kissed him briefly.

She stood up and went to where Madame Pomfrey was just finishing up. "How is she?"

"I've cured the toxins in her system and healed the wound. She'll need to take it easy for a few days, but she'll be fine."

"She doesn't have a few days," Buffy countered and walked around the nurse.

"Kendra, I know you're upset and you're hurting, but we need you," Buffy began. "We have the opportunity to stop Voldemort for good, so he can never hurt anyone again. In a minute he's going to be sending out every nasty thing he's got in there. We need your strength to get us through it."

Kendra's eyes were distant. "Buffy, I…"

"Kendra you are a Slayer," Buffy reminded her. "I know he hurt you and we can have a good cry about that when this is over, but first you need to strike back. Show him never to mess with a Slayer again. This is your chance for revenge."

Kendra wiped the tears from her eyes. "Revenge?"

The manor houses doors were swung open once more and the vampires started pouring out a few demons among them. All around them Death Eaters were portkeying in.

Buffy pulled a stake from her boot and held it out. A few moments later Kendra stretched out a shaking hand and took it.

"I want revenge," she whispered, in heavily accented English.

She climbed to her feet and surveyed the oncoming horde. With a feral scream she plunged into their ranks and was soon lost to the crowd. To Buffy's left she could see Giles' team rush forward to engage the enemy. She cringed at the noise.

Behind her Willow was preparing to start the soul curse and Buffy knew she needed to move now. With a final glance at her friends and Joyce she hurried over to where Harry, Ron and Ginny were waiting.

"Is Angel ok?" Ginny asked tearfully.

"He's tough," Buffy said stiffly. "He'll be fine."

"He's not here," Harry said, surveying the battle. All around them were flashes of light, war-cries and grunts of pain. Someone, somewhere, was screaming. "I guess we were right. He'll stay out of it unless he's forced to get involved."

"Know your enemy," Buffy said wryly. "Come on."

She led the way to the manor house, the others close on her heels. Once or twice Buffy needed to stop to stake a vampire, or one of her friends would fire off a curse.

Eventually they made it unscathed, but as they stepped through the doorway a cry went up behind them. The Dementors had arrived.

"Oh no," Ginny whimpered.

"Cast your Patronuses," Harry ordered.

All four of them raised their wands and shouted, "_Expecto Patronum."_

A stag and an otter rushed out of their wands and ran to join the Patronuses cast by the Cool Crew. Just behind them ran a horse and a small terrier.

"That's all we can do," Buffy said sadly. "They're on their own."

As one they turned and walked into the dark house.

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The Cool Crew were in business. Fred shot out a stunner from behind the rock he was using as cover and caught the Death Eater he was aiming at in the shoulder. He went down instantly.

"Hey, Fred, watch this," his twin called and produced something from a pocket that was too small to see. He hurled it directly into the mass of Death Eaters. A second later there was a huge explosion of green smoke that caused the Death Eaters to scatter. Their robes and every inch of skin that could be seen was now a bright and sickly green.

"Not only does it break up groups to a more manageable size, but it also turns your enemies a lovely shade of green and increases their visibility," George laughed.

"I like it," Fred grinned even as he cast a leg locker at a lone Death Eater.

"I call it Green Grenade," George announced proudly. "I came up with it just this morning."

"It's genius, brother mine," Fred called. "We'll sell them by the bucket load once this is finished."

"Even better, the colour won't come off," George said. "I tried everything I could on the test subject and nothing worked."

"Who was the test subject?" Fred ducked as a red light shot his way.

"Well that's the best part," George rolled under a green curse. "I was walking along the alley this morning, looking for a guinea pig when who should I see walking along, but our favouritest brother."

"Bill?"

"No."

"Charlie?"

"Colder."

"_Ron_?"

"Why would he have been there? No, brother, I am talking about the wonderful Percy. The git whose head is so far up his own arse that he can't even see the light of day." 

Fred roared with laughter. "Classic. And I suppose the esteemed Percy caught you and tried to get you to reverse it."

"Indeed," George said and jumped up to cast a _reducto_ before dropping back behind his cover. "And try as I might, noting could get rid of that green."

Fred's laughter died in his throat. "Is it starting to get colder?"

"Um, don't look now, Fred, but I think we've got Dementors approaching from behind."

Fred craned his neck to get a look. Sure enough the black shrouded creatures were melting out of the trees.

"Everyone! Patronuses!" Fred yelled, casting his own.

Dozens of pearly white animals shot out to battle the Dementors and Fred turned back to curse a Death Eater. As he did so he saw four more animals rush to join the ones cast by the Cool Crew.

"George," Fred hissed and grabbed his twin's arm. "Look."

George followed his pointing finger to gaze at the house. "They're in," he said quietly.

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A/N: Bet you weren't expecting another update so soon. Neither was I to be honest. This chapter practically wrote itself.

I have now started a Yahoo! Group. The address is on my Profile page.

Please review or visit the group and let me know what you think.

Nats.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28.

Buffy led the way. Harry was right behind her, followed closely by Ron and Ginny.

"Which way?" she murmured to Harry.

"Dunno," Harry replied. "My scars not hurting yet, so he's probably not that close."

Buffy nodded.

The inside of the house was luxurious, to say the least. Rich tapestries covered the walls and small, expensive looking statues and vases were placed in cabinets here and there.

They reached some stairs and Buffy paused.

"Can you hear that?" she whispered.

Harry shook his head.

Buffy gestured for them to stay where they were and rounded the foot of the staircase. Tucked in a corner was a small door and it was from behind it that Buffy could hear scuffling noises. She cautiously reached out a hand and turned the knob.

It was locked. Without a second thought Buffy pulled out her wand and cast the unlocking charm. The lock clicked and this time the door opened easily.

Beyond the door were more stairs, leading downwards. The scuffling was louder now and Buffy could make out voices mixed in.

She crept down the stairs.

"It sounds like something's happening outside," one voice said quietly.

"Do you think someone's come to rescue us?" another replied.

"No one knows we're here," yet another pointed out.

The voices were silenced as Buffy came into view. "Hi," she said, trying to appear harmless.

There were several people in a cage. They all looked pretty beaten up and most of them looked as if they hadn't eaten in weeks. One figure, a wizened man, came to the front and peered at her through the bars.

"Mr Ollivander," Buffy exclaimed.

"Miss Buffy Summers," he replied in a croaky voice. "Previously Miss Hermione Granger. You can change your name my dear, but you cannot change who you are."

Buffy gaped at him. "How did you…? You know what, never mind. Now is not the time. Let's get you out of there."

She stepped back and performed the unlocking charm again. This time nothing happened.

"I guess it's the old fashioned way then. Stand back," she said briskly.

The cell's inhabitants scrambled out of the way.

Buffy leaned back and kicked the door with all her strength. It swung around violently into the stone wall and made a loud clanging noise.

"Let's hope no one heard that," she said as she ushered the people out. "Head up the stairs and straight out the main door," she instructed them. "And be careful. There's a battle going on out there, vampires and wizards and all sorts of nasty things are just waiting to rip you apart so I strongly suggest you find yourselves an Auror who can make you a portkey as soon as possible."

As one the ex-prisoners hurried up the stairs and Buffy followed them. Once back on the ground floor they all rushed for the exit, some of the badly injured being supported by their friends.

Buffy returned to her own friends. By the guilty looks on their faces they hadn't stayed put. Several open doors nearby were testament to the fact that they had been looking around while she was rescuing prisoners.

"Find anything?" she asked archly.

"He's not on this floor," Ron said.

"Then let's go up."

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Angel was tense with both pain and worry. Buffy was in there somewhere, fighting and he was here babysitting. He had been joined by a few others, goblins for the most part, that realised the spell casting inside the warded area was crucial to the outcome of this battle.

Over the din he heard a familiar voice and groaned inwardly. That was all he needed.

"Oi!" the voice was yelling. "Let me through, you bleedin' morons. I'm on your side."

"And how are they supposed to know that, Spike?" Angel asked as he approached, one hand clasped to his wound. "I'm not even sure."

Spike glared at him. "I made a deal with your girl," he reminded Angel. "I help you, I walk out of here with Dru, remember old man?"

"You haven't really been all that helpful," Angel pointed out dryly.

"I gave you those maps," Spike said insistently. "You wouldn't be here if it weren't for me."

"Thanks for that," Angel said bitterly. He waved aside the goblins who had been pointing their weapons at Spike. "For now we let him go, but if he even looks at you the wrong way you have my permission to kill him."

"Hey," Spike sounded indignant, even as the goblins spread out once more to stop the few vampires that came their way.

"Let me make something abundantly clear," Angel said in his deadliest voice. "I don't trust you. Buffy doesn't trust you. You want us to honour our side of the deal then you'd better start making yourself useful." Angel handed him a stake. "All you've done so far is fail to warn us of an attack you were part of and draw a few maps to stop us from staking you. Don't pretend you have altruistic motives here."

"Alright," Spike said, taking the stake. "You want me to take out the boys, fight at your side? Fine. I'll play, but that's it, then I'm gone."

He spun on his heel and stalked out towards the main fight.

"I can hardly wait," said Angel, watching him leave.

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A cheer went up as the Dementors fled back into the woods. The warmth that seemed to spread through their makeshift army was as encouraging as chocolate and they were heartened by it.

That still left an army of Death Eaters.

Fred and George stayed close to each other. Since George had turned all the Death Eaters green they were much easier to see in the dark and they seemed far less menacing. It could almost be mistaken for a DA practise session except that the spells flying about were far more deadly.

Not far away McGonagall and Flitwick were duelling side by side. Flitwick's reputation as a duelling master seemed well earned to anyone who saw him and McGonagall's ferocity and quick reflexes were likened to that of her animagus form. It was hard to remember at this point that they were two of the gentlest and most liked teachers at Hogwarts.

Opposite them one of the most feared witches in the country stood proudly. She didn't cringe from the spell fire around her as if she believed herself immune to it. She laughed madly, the dim light casting her once beautiful face into shadow. Bellatrix Lestrange.

Contemptuously she threw a killing curse into the ranks of the Order of the Phoenix, felling an old man whose name she would never care to learn. He was either a blood traitor or a mudblood. Either way he was beneath her.

"Hello kitty," she giggled, spotting McGonagall. "Want to play?"

McGonagall fired off a stunner, which Flitwick followed with a blasting spell.

Bellatrix merely cackled and stepped to one side. "Naughty, naughty," she called. "That's not how nice girls play. _Crucio_!" She laughed again as her curse struck an Auror.

"You were never a nice girl, Bella," McGonagall called over the din. "You were always in detention for practising dark magic. You should have been expelled in your first year."

"Ah, but the muggle-lover believes in second chances," Bellatrix sang tauntingly. "Come on kitty cat, punish me."

A curse from behind caught her off guard and her legs snapped together. "No magic in the corridors," she called and sent a killing curse at her attacker, which was dodged. She fell to the ground and rolled onto her back, still giggling.

"She's completely insane," McGonagall said, cautiously approaching her. "It would be mercy to kill her."

"Professor," Bellatrix said in her sweetest voice. "That naughty boy did this to me. Can I go to the hospital wing?"

McGonagall cast a sad look at Flitwick.

Her moment of distraction was enough for Bellatrix. "_Avada Kedavra,_" she called and McGonagall fell to the ground.

"One hundred million points from Gryffindor," Bellatrix said in a poor impression of a teacher as she countered the leg locking curse and jumped back to her feet looking for someone else to kill.

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"Excuse me, Auror," a querulous voice called.

Tonks spun around. "Mr Ollivander?" she asked in disbelief.

She was holding her right arm close to her chest after a vampire had broken it. She'd managed to stake him, but it had been close and now she was on her way to where the healers were set up to get it fixed. Or at least she had been before Ollivander had found her, a man she had believed to be dead and he was surrounded by other people, many of whom she recognised from missing persons reports.

"_Madame_ _Bones_?" Tonks gasped. The old head of Magical Law Enforcement had been attacked almost a year ago, her house burnt to the ground. Everyone thought she had died in the fire, yet here she was, thinner and sickly looking, but alive.

"Auror Tonks," Madame Bones said weakly. "We are in need of a portkey to a safe location."

"Of course," Tonks said at once, reaching for her wand. She grabbed a twig and enlarged it several times before casting the portkey spell.

The people behind Ollivander came forward and touched the branch gingerly. Many of them were in bad shape and suffering from various injuries as well as malnutrition. The portkey would take them to St Mungos where they could get some medical attention. Moments later the group was gone leaving Tonks staring at Madame Bones, Ollivander and several others who hadn't taken the portkey.

"Why the hell didn't you go?" she demanded, forgetting for the moment that Madame Bones had been her boss. "This is war going on here."

"And we intend to help you fight it," Madame Bones said fearlessly. "I'm sure there are some wands lying around by now. We will procure some from the fallen."

Tonks sighed. She knew from experience that there was no fighting the woman. "At least have a healer check you over first."

"Lead the way, Auror Tonks," Ollivander said.

Tonks turned and walked towards the area that had been put aside for the healers to do their work. There were only three of them. They were permanently assigned to the Aurors and so were the only healers that could be contacted and brought in quickly enough. The healers had a large quantity of portkeys for any severely injured patients they could not heal themselves.

Here and there were several Aurors and Order members waiting to be treated. Around the perimeter of the clearing were goblins, chanting their ward spells to keep the area safe. Tonks dimly remembered them discussing vampire repelling wards and another ward that prevented magic being performed by anyone not keyed into the spell.

Tonks was profoundly glad that the goblins had agreed to Dumbledore's proposition. Without them this would all be much harder, if not impossible. She wasn't entirely sure what Dumbledore had offered the goblins in return for their aid; all she knew was that when he called them back to the school to add to the wards after his meeting with Hermione he had been closeted with the goblin elder for hours. When they had emerged they had a deal.

A healer hurried over to them and immediately began casting diagnostic spells and handing out potions. Tonks felt the pain abate in her arm with some relief and tested it gingerly. Without a backward glance at the healers or the other patients she headed back out onto the battlefield.

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"WORMTAIL," Remus Lupin roared.

Peter Pettigrew froze where he stood on hearing the voice of his old friend. Panicked, he looked around himself for somewhere to hide. He didn't want to be here, but his Master had ordered it and he was far more terrified of his Master than he was of the battle.

With nowhere to run he turned to face Remus, a desperate look on is face. "I'm sorry, my friend. I didn't mean to do it. He made me."

"You betrayed James and Lily," Remus said through clenched teeth. "You betrayed Sirius. You hurt Harry. It's because of you all this is happening. I should have killed you back when we were in school."

Peter dropped to his knees. "Please, Remus, forgive me."

"It's too late," Remus snarled and lunged.

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Harry stopped when Hermione raised a hand. His scar had started burning as they ascended the third set of stairs and was getting worse the further they walked down the corridor. He just knew Voldemort was somewhere on this floor.

Hermione peered around the corner before turning to face them. "There's a demon guarding the door," she whispered. "I'm gonna have to take it out before we can reach Voldemort. Only thing is it's gonna make a noise. I need you three to cast silencing charms and keep casting them. We don't want anyone to hear and come to help."

Harry nodded his understanding and Hermione stepped out into the hallway. "_Silencio_," Harry murmured, pointing his wand down the corridor. Beside him Ron and Ginny cast the same spell.

The demon caught sight of Hermione and growled. It was several feet taller than her and covered in oily looking brown scales. Small horns jutted from the top of its head.

Hermione didn't give it time to attack. She ran straight at it and leaped into the air, hitting the demon feet first.

It fell backwards and rolled. Hermione jumped back to her feet, her sword already in her hand and stabbed downward, but the demon dissolved into some kind of gloopy substance before the sword made contact.

"That is not fair," Hermione complained.

Harry cast the silencing spell again.

The glop moved a few feet away from Hermione before reforming into the demon. It growled again and swept its arms as if to grab her, but she ducked beneath them and put the sword through its belly with all her strength.

It roared in pain.

Hermione pulled the sword out and leapt up, swinging the sword in a wide arc and severing its head.

She stepped away from it as the head rolled across the floor and beckoned to her friends to approach. As they reached her the body exploded into globs of liquid that covered all four of them.

"Eeew," Hermione said, shaking her hand and sending splatters flying to hit the other three.

"_Scourgify_,"Ginny whispered.

"Good idea," Hermione said and copied her.

"Let's go," Harry said and turned to the door. His scar was more painful than ever. This was it. Voldemort was behind this door and tonight they would finish this, one way or another.

He put his hand on the handle and twisted. He pushed the door open, but didn't step right through.

"You have come," Voldemort hissed from the other side. "As I knew you would."

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"I've been looking all over for you."

Lucius Malfoy spun, wand in hand and relaxed slightly when he saw it was only the vampire, Spike. "What do you want?" he demanded. He had been enjoying himself out there, cursing all the Order members who had been such an annoyance for so long now. He had no time for the vampire, whose vanity and arrogance was becoming increasingly annoying.

"We have a score to settle," Spike said ominously.

"We do?" Lucius had rarely spoken to the vampire. Spike was far below his notice. He couldn't think of any reason for Spike to have a grievance against him.

"It's a family thing," Spike said.

"Family?"

"We are related after all," Spike said lazily.

"Me? Related to a vampire?" Lucius scoffed.

"The name was William Malfoy." Spike reached out and grabbed Lucius by the neck, squeezing with his vampire strength. Lucius choked and his knees buckled. "Until I was disowned."

"Not by me," Lucius wheezed, trying to pry those cold fingers from his throat.

"No, but the Malfoy who did it is long dead. I can't get my revenge on him, so you're the next best thing." With a flick of his wrist Spike snapped Lucius' neck.

He stepped back and admired is handiwork. "Wonder if the boy is here, too," he said to himself before walking back into the battlefield.

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Willow was still chanting, Angel noted absently. He had never actually heard the words of the soul curse all those years ago, but something about it was eerily familiar, like a forgotten dream.

Gingerly he touched his chest. The wound beneath the bandages was deep and painful and the venom in it was making him feel weak. No matter how bad he felt, though, he would recover. He was only disappointed that he wouldn't get to face Voldemort himself. He desperately wanted to know how the man could mutilate his own soul like that.

Jenny began chanting in rhythm with Willow, her voice low and confident despite the difficult Latin words. Opposite her Joyce was waving the incense in a wide pattern, her face screwed up in concentration as though she were desperate to get her part exactly right, no matter how peripheral it might be to the spell.

Between the three women the Orb of Thessulah began to glow.

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"You knew we were coming?" Harry asked disbelievingly. "Somehow I doubt that."

Buffy stepped up behind him, her sweetest smile in place. "Hey Voldy, long time no see."

Voldemort smiled. "Ah, yes. The mudblood Slayer. I have been expecting you as well." Several figures stood behind him, all in the familiar Death Eater cloaks, their faces hidden behind masks.

"If you were expecting us then why weren't you better prepared?" Ginny said defiantly from the back of the group.

"I must admit I wasn't expecting you to come quite so soon, but I knew you must come here."

"How?" Harry demanded.

One of the cloaked figures stepped forward at a gesture from Voldemort. He raised his hands and lowered his hood.

"Ethan," Buffy growled. "How unpleasant it is to see you again."

"I was most fortunate to procure Ethan Rayne's services," Voldemort said in his silky voice. "He told me many things. Not least of which that Slayers do not sit back and wait for the evil to come to them. Slayers like to strike back. Isn't that right, my dear Hermione?"

Buffy could see Ethan's hands moving under his cloak and could hear a low mutter emanating from behind his mask. She tensed, preparing to push Harry aside if necessary.

"There was one other thing which he could provide me and that was the most interesting thing of all," Voldemort was staring directly at her, trying to keep her attention on him. Whatever Ethan was doing Voldemort didn't want her to notice it.

"Harry," Buffy cried, forcing him to one side as Ethan made a gesture in their direction, sending a beam of light to hit Buffy in the side.

"You," Voldemort said triumphantly.

"As I told you Master, she is quite predictable," Ethan said snidely as Buffy collapsed in a heap. Ginny was instantly at her side with Ron keeping an eye on Voldemort. "She'll throw herself into the path of a curse to protect a friend."

"You have done well," Voldemort said imperiously.

"What have you done to her?" Harry asked, horrified at seeing his friend shaking on the floor.

"In a few moments the spell will run its course and she will be mine to control," Voldemort replied. "She will watch, trapped within her own mind as I destroy everything she loves." He spat the word. "Starting with you."

"Let her go," Ron said standing in front of her protectively.

"Oh no," Voldemort said, watching Buffy shudder under the effects of the curse. "You have no idea of the power she holds. Magical strength and physical power combined in one body. And all that will be mine."

Buffy couldn't stop her limbs from trembling or the whimper that escaped her lips as the curse tore through her. She could hear the voices around her as if they were coming from far away.

"In just a few moments her spirit will be forced aside and then I can take over."

Buffy's shaking was becoming even more pronounced. She didn't think she could fight this. The spell felt dirty, tainted and it was making her dizzy. She didn't know how much longer she could hold on.

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Dirty. That's how she felt. Even thought the presence that had controlled her for months now was gone Kendra couldn't shake off the feeling that she had been contaminated.

She swatted a vampire out of her way and staked another cleanly. She felt angry too. Something she never thought she would feel, but yet here she was and she couldn't make the feelings go away. Buffy had gone into the manor a while ago and Kendra knew that her sister Slayer would make Voldemort pay.

Fear was another new emotion for her. Not of the vampires, but of Voldemort and the curse that had been so effective against her. Although part of her, the angry part, wanted to go after Buffy and hurt the Dark Lord herself she was terrified to do it. What if he cast the curse again? She would lose control and start killing innocents. She might hurt Buffy.

That was what terrified her most of all. The idea of Buffy getting hurt. She'd never really cared for anyone before, not even her Watcher really. Mr Zabuto had taught her that caring for others was a weakness that would get her killed. She supposed he was right, but it felt good to care for someone, even if she might lose the only person in the world she loved.

A vampire slashed at her arm, drawing blood and she reacted instinctively. She was covered in ash by now, but paid it no mind. As she spun and kicked another vampire she revelled in her new sense of freedom, determined that she would never give it up again.

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Voldemort's eyes went blank as he tried to take control of her. Buffy screamed inarticulately.

"This is taking far longer than last time," Ethan muttered to himself. There was a hint of concern in his voice and Buffy took heart from it. If he was worried then there must be a possibility it wouldn't work and if that was true then she could fight it.

"I will have you," Voldemort hissed angrily and tried again.

This time Buffy could feel the intrusion and threw all her strength into stopping it. Above her Harry and Ron exchanged a glance.

"_Stupefy_," Ron called, his wand pointed at Ethan.

"_Expelliarmus_," Harry yelled at the same moment.

"No!" Buffy screamed and suddenly she was on her feet, her own wand aimed at Voldemort. "You will never control me."

The spasms were gone and her head was clear of the curses influence.

Ethan was lying, stunned, on the floor. Voldemort had managed to keep his wand, but his face was paler than ever, apparently it had taken a lot out of him to have his attempt at possessing Buffy thrown back in his face.

"It appears I underestimated you, girl," Voldemort said in a thoroughly unconcerned tone. "No matter. None of you will leave here alive."

"As long as we take you with us," Buffy quipped.

Voldemort threw back his head and laughed. It was a peculiar sound, filled with hissing and wheezing. Buffy wondered if it had something to do with his lack of a nose.

"You cannot kill me," he said. "I am immortal. You cannot know of the steps I have taken to insure that I cannot die."

"You really think we'd come here not knowing?" Harry asked lightly.

The grin disappeared from Voldemort's distorted face. "You cannot."

"Oh, we can," Harry said bravely. "Did you really think that Dumbledore wouldn't know about your horcruxes?"

Voldemort's face paled even more.

"Don't worry," Buffy shrugged. "We haven't destroyed a single one."

"Then you are fools to come here," Voldemort said icily. "And now I will kill you."

"We didn't need to," Buffy continued as though he hadn't spoken. "Why waste all that effort when a single spell can do it all for us?"

"Liars," Voldemort's face was contorted with fury. "_Avada Kedavra_,"

Buffy rolled out of the way, pulling Harry with her. Ron grabbed Ginny and ducked beneath the curse.

"Kill them," Voldemort said, enraged.

The other four figures stepped forward at his order. Buffy could tell that at least one of them was a demon.

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The chanting was picking up now, faster and faster. Joyce's eyes were wide with concern as Willow's eyes glazed over and her head dropped forward.

"Willow?" she whispered.

Willow's head snapped back and she stared into the night sky. She began to chant once more, this time in Romanian, her eyes staring straight ahead, focussed on something Joyce couldn't see.

Joyce looked up into Jenny's eyes and saw the concern there. This wasn't supposed to happen.

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Arthur Weasley was pinned down beneath a female vampire, struggling desperately. No matter what he did he couldn't pry her away.

She licked her lips as she gazed down at him and lowered her mouth to his neck.

Arthur closed his eyes as he felt her fangs pierce his skin and then nothing.

He opened his eyes in confusion. She was gone and in her place stood another vampire. One he had seen before.

"You're Spike," he said in surprise.

"Yeah." The blond vampire reached out and pulled Arthur to his feet.

"But, why…"

"I promised the girl I would help out," Spike said, turning to face another vampire. "I figure she'll stake me good and proper if I don't. Or worse, she'll stake Dru." 

"Oh." Arthur wasn't sure who Dru was and he wasn't about to ask. "Thank you."

"Whatever." Spike pushed a Death Eater away, hard. Arthur leaned around him and cast a stunning spell. The Death Eater stayed down.

"Nice," Spike congratulated him. "How about you stick with me? I'll take out the vamps, you deal with the wizards."

"Good plan," Arthur agreed.

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Ron managed to shield himself at the last moment. He didn't know what Death Eater he was fighting and he didn't care. This was life and death.

Ginny fought by his side. They made a good team, Ron thought absently as he watched her curse the Death Eater they were fighting.

Hermione was fighting a demon near the door. She was moving with the deadly grace that he had come to associate with her Slayer skills.

In the centre of the room Harry was duelling with Voldemort. Some of the curses Voldemort was using were seriously dark. Ron wasn't sure how Harry was managing to hold him off. Harry himself looked to be tiring. He wouldn't last much longer against the barrage of curses.

Ron swore as Hermione sailed through the air, knocking into Ginny and sending both of them rolling across the floor. He raised his wand towards the demon, already knowing how futile it was.

Hermione got up first, dragging Ginny with her. Her eyes were narrowed dangerously and her mouth was formed into a tight line. Ron didn't think she'd ever looked more intimidating. Or more beautiful. "Ok, now I'm mad."

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"This is wrong," Joyce said, biting her lip nervously. "Should we stop it?"

Willow had not done anything but chant in that strange language for several minutes now. The Orb that sat between them was filled with an intense white light and was almost painful to look at.

"I don't know," Jenny replied.

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The Death Eaters were down and Hermione had killed the demon. It had been amazing. Ginny had been knocked to the ground and when she was pulled to her feet Hermione had been angry and she had taken it out on their enemies. She'd attacked with the kind of rage Ginny could never imagine feeling herself and within seconds the demon had lain dead at her feet. She and Ron had used the distraction to stun and bind the Death Eaters.

Now only Harry and Voldemort were left fighting. Ginny had wanted to run and help but Hermione had held her back. "This is his fight," she had said.

So she could only watch helplessly as the boy she had had a crush on since she was ten years old fought for his life.

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Harry was beyond tired. All his muscles ached and he was starting to feel light headed, but he couldn't stop. Stopping meant dying and if he died then all his friends were doomed.

Voldemort flicked his wand and a sickly orange burst of light flew at Harry. He tried to jump out of the way but his tired body couldn't move fast enough. The spell hit his shoulder and the next thing he knew Harry was on his knees screaming.

A small figure barrelled into Voldemort, ending the curse. Harry struggled to his feet and saw Ginny doing the same. Voldemort rose with a speed that surprised them all and pulled Ginny to him, his wand at her throat.

"Now, then Harry, drop your wand and kneel before me."

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The Orb glowed even more brightly before it faded completely.

Joyce looked on worriedly as Willow seemed to deflate and look around in confusion.

"Did it work?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Voldemort screamed as he fell to his knees, holding his head. Ginny scampered away to stand next to Hermione.

As Harry watched five small lights seemed to hit Voldemort who sagged and lowered his hands.

Hermione was beside him, holding out the sword he had dropped earlier. "It's time to finish it."

Harry took the sword in both hands. Suddenly he wasn't half as sure about this. Voldemort didn't look even slightly dangerous right now, he just looked old and weak and defeated.

"Gone," the former Dark Lord muttered to the floor. "All gone. It's not possible. I was supposed to live forever."

Harry couldn't help the pity that welled up in him and one look at his friends showed that they felt the same way.

"YOU!" There was an unbridled fury in Voldemort's voice as he looked up and directly into Harry's eyes. Harry was rather forcefully reminded that once Voldemort had been a boy named Tom Riddle. The red eyes were no longer red, but an average shade of brown. His snakelike face was replaced with a rather human looking one and his nose that had been a pair of slits cut into his face was normal again.

"You did this to me," Voldemort hissed in parseltongue. "But you won't kill me."

Perhaps it was all the time he'd spent in Kendra's body, perhaps his rage would not let him do it any other way, but for whatever reason Voldemort did not reach for his wand. Instead he lunged at Harry, his arms outstretched before him and fingers bared as if to wring Harry's neck.

Startled Harry took a step back and brought up the sword still in his hands.

Voldemort stopped abruptly and looked downwards at the sword protruding from his chest. "Well played, boy," he said and fell backwards.

Harry stared blankly at the sword in his hands that had slid free as Voldemort fell, covered in the blood of the man who killed his parents.

"Is he dead?" Ron asked in a near whisper as though afraid of the answer.

Hermione knelt down at Voldemort's side and felt for a pulse. "Yes." Harry could have told her that. His scar had stopped hurting the moment Voldemort had hit the ground.

Harry didn't know what to feel. His whole life up to this point had been about killing Voldemort, he realised. Now it was done he wasn't sure if it was even real, or if he should be glad it was done, or feel proud to have avenged his parents. Maybe he should be sad that the man that had defined so much of his life was dead.

The house rumbled ominously.

"Uh oh," Hermione muttered.

"What's happening?" Ginny asked fearfully.

"I don't know, but I think we should get out of here," Hermione replied.

"Come on, Ginny," Ron said and pushed her towards the door.

A second rumble came and plaster rained down from the ceiling.

"Run," Hermione cried. She knocked the sword from Harry's hands and grabbed his arm, pulling him along after her.

"Which way?" Ron yelled from ahead of them. 

"Just run," Hermione cried, still dragging Harry as the floor beneath their feet began to shift. "Harry, snap out of it."

They leaped down the stairs as the house shook once more and parts of the walls began to topple inwards. Hermione stopped suddenly and pulled Harry back a few steps as a chunk of the ceiling fell down right where they would have been.

Harry was shaking his head as though to get rid of the cobwebs in his brain.

"You with me?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah," Harry nodded and followed her as she jumped over the rubble in their path. On the other side he took her hand once more and they ran for the front door.

"Are we going to make it?" he yelled over the noise of the house collapsing.

Hermione didn't answer.

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Giles' head snapped towards the manor house when he heard the noise. It sounded like the whole building was caving in. He wasn't the only one who turned to stare. Every man, woman, goblin and vampire was enthralled by the sight as bits of the outer wall came away.

"Dear Lord," he said.

He was running to the house before he even stopped to think about it. Buffy was in there. As he ran he was aware of others at his side. Xander and Willow were also making their way to the entrance as well as several Aurors, a few Weasleys and Angel. He noted absently that not one Death Eater was with them. In fact, as he glanced around himself, the Death Eaters all seemed to have disappeared and most of the vampires were trying to slink away unnoticed. Could this possibly mean that they had won?

He didn't dare to hope as the main door burst open and two red headed figures fell through it. They were both covered in dust and debris.

"Ron, Ginny?" Molly Weasley cried and pulled them into her arms.

"Buffy?" Angel asked desperately.

"She and Harry were right behind us," Ron gasped for breath. He coughed a little.

With a final groan the house collapsed entirely upon itself. Giles and the rest were forced to move away quickly or have the house fall on them.

"Where are they?" Xander was peering through the dust laden air for his best friend and Harry.

Out of the dust two figures stumbled. One with blond hair and another whose hair was probably black normally, but the dust in it made it look white.

"Buffy!" Willow cried and raced for her friend.

Buffy and Harry fell into a heap on the floor surrounded by their family and friends.

"Is it over?" Buffy wheezed.

"Maybe we should be asking you that?" Giles asked pointedly.

Harry looked at the nervous faces around him. His eyes took in the bodies strewn around the battlefield and the numerous injuries the fighters had sustained. "It's over," he said weakly.

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A/N: Woohoo! Finally got it done. Now there's only one chapter left and an epilogue. This chapter was much harder to write than the last one, mainly because there was so much jumping around, but for all that it was the longest chapter so far.

As you may know if you've read my profile lately I want opinions on who should be in the epilogue which will take place some years after the end of the next chapter. Kendra or Faith. While Faith may fit in better I have become attached to Kendra while writing this fic. On the other hand I think part of what makes Buffy special as a Slayer is how long she survived. Would it cheapen that if Kendra were around nearly as long? Whatever you decide I will abide by it as it won't play a major part, but I won't be writing Kendra's death scene either way. Let me know what you think either in a review, e-mail or you can join my Yahoo! Group and vote in the poll I've set up.

Speaking if that my old Yahoo! Group was erased as I'd put it in the adult section and I wasn't able to move it. So I restarted it in another place. Please join as I'm much more likely t reply to your comments there than here.

That said, many thanks to my reviewers.

**MirrorEarths** Good question. I thought I had implied it before, but it probably wasn't clear enough. Just because you asked I made sure to add in the reason in this chapter. If you missed it it's in the scene with Tonks and Madame Bones.

**Marcus S Lazarus** Thank you especially for your review. I'd never really considered having Angel face off with Voldemort. I really liked the idea, but I'd already sot it in the foot so to speak so couldn't do it. Oh well.

Thank you also to **stasa, Kat the Vampire Slayer, pstibbons, Silver Warrior **and **iamkagomeiloveinuyasha.**

Nats.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29.

They were calling it the Final Battle. Buffy could only shake her head at their optimism.

They were back at Grimmauld Place the day after Voldemort had been killed once and for all. It wasn't really an Order meeting, more of a gathering of those who survived. They were missing some others, mainly those who were seriously wounded and were still in St Mungo's.

Dumbledore was there, beaming at the group assembled before him, his bright violet robes adorned with green stars. Buffy hid a grin at his complete lack of colour coordination. Lupin was there, too and Tonks, both looking relieved to have made it this far as they held hands in a secluded corner. Snape scowled at anyone who tried to entice him to join in the celebrations. There were a few others whom Buffy knew only by sight. They were all –apart from Snape- laughing and joking and having a good time.

Buffy's friends were there too. Giles was smiling politely with Willow and Xander staying close to him. None of them had really been touched by this war, they wouldn't even have known about it were it not for Buffy. They may share the Wizarding World's happiness of Voldemort's passing, but they, like Buffy, were bemused by the optimism for a better future they were surrounded with. Harry, Ron and Ginny were enjoying the celebrations as much as anyone, but they seemed aware of Buffy's distance from it and were concerned. Kendra stood at the very back of the room, out of sight as much as possible with her head bowed low. It was a submissive pose and one Buffy would have to talk to her about. She was a Slayer and should stand strong and proud, not cowed like a scolded puppy.

Buffy approached the place where Dumbledore spoke quietly with Giles. She had been meaning to ask them something since yesterday.

"Professor?" she asked quietly when a lull came in their conversation.

"Yes, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said amicably.

"I wanted to ask you about something," Buffy began. "Yesterday, when Harry killed Voldemort, the house collapsed."

Dumbledore merely nodded.

"Why?"

"I have been wondering that myself," Giles said at once. "There are well documented cases of wiccans losing their lives in the course of a spell. As you know, Buffy, they take the power directly from the Earth and when they finish a spell they release that power back to where it came from. However, if killed that power cannot be released safely and, in some instances small tremors have been caused as the power is ripped away from the wiccan's body and pulled back into the Earth. Although I am not sure what happens when a wizard is killed and I must confess I have never heard of anything on that scale before, the precedents are there."

"I believe I can shed some more light on this," Dumbledore said, taking a sip from the goblet he held in one hand. "Wizards hold their magic within their bodies and use a wand to access it. Normally, if one were to die, their magic would leave the body with their soul. No one truly knows what happens to it after that. Voldemort was a rather unique case. He split his soul into many pieces and scattered them, splitting his magic along with it, although I am sure that was not his intention. To remedy this he subjected himself to a great many dark rituals which amplified his power. He was then cast from his body just over sixteen years ago and was forced to build a golem of sorts to house the part of his battered and torn soul that he still possessed. That body was not meant to house magic of such magnitude, he would have been required to perform more rituals to keep everything in place. Furthermore, the spell that Ms Rosenberg used to return his soul to one piece would have united his original power with this unfamiliar body. What I believe is this, the body, made by magic, but not meant to house it, was already struggling to contain everything before Harry used his sword to kill Voldemort. When he did this the power was released far too quickly and all at once. That is what caused the earthquake."

Buffy thought about it for a minute. "So what you're saying is that we overloaded him and he exploded?"

"Crudely put, Miss Granger, but succinct," Dumbledore smiled down at her. "Now, before you rejoin your friends I wanted to assure you that I have spoken to Mr Giles about your plans and I will make the necessary arrangements."

Buffy smiled. "Thank you, Professor. That makes things easier. Now I just have to tell everyone else."

"You know, there's still one thing bothering me," Tonks said loudly from her corner of the room. She stood up and stalked over to Snape. "What's your problem with Hermione? You never did say?" Buffy detected a faint slur in her voice and wondered just how much the petite Auror had had to drink.

Snape spluttered. "I have no problem."

"You might as well admit it, Severus," Lupin intervened, pulling Tonks away. "We've all noticed how you are with her. It's like you're scared. And not just of her, but Kendra, too."

"She was controlled by the Dark Lord for months," Snape said quickly. "It is only natural for me to be wary of her. For all we know some lingering effects remain. She could kill us all in a moment."

"Voldemort's dead," Harry said bluntly. "There's no way he could be possessing her. Even if he wasn't we all saw what happened. Willow and Hermione got rid of him."

"Besides," Buffy said with a cheeky grin. "That doesn't explain why you're scared of _me_."

Before Snape could come up with a scathing reply a throat was cleared, causing everyone to turn to the back of the room where Kendra stood, eyeing the floor as though it were doing something interesting.

"I am sorry to interrupt," she said haltingly. "But I think I know why."

"What is it?" Buffy coaxed gently. Now Voldemort was gone Kendra had become painfully shy. Part of it, Buffy knew, was due to lingering guilt for what she had been forced to do, the rest most likely came from her upbringing.

"I… Maybe you do not see. He was your teacher first." Kendra shifted, uncomfortable with so many people looking at her.

Buffy frowned. "See what?" She turned to gaze at Snape. He looked exactly the same as he always did.

"Do not look at him as a student looks upon her teacher," Kendra advised quietly, still studying the floor, "but as a Slayer."

Buffy knew exactly what she meant. She closed her eyes for a moment, calling her inner Slayer to the surface and then opened them. It was Snape's turn to fidget as she stared at him in disbelief.

"You're part demon," she gasped.

"No…I…"

"I can't believe I never noticed that before," Buffy continued as though he hadn't spoken. "Sure, there's human in there, too, but the demon part should have been obvious."

"Buffy, are you sure?" Giles asked at once. "Kendra, you sense this, too?"

"Yes, sir," Kendra said softly.

"Yeah," Buffy agreed.

"Severus, is there something you wish to tell these young ladies?" Dumbledore asked knowingly. "Before they take it into their heads that you need Slaying."

Snape hung his head, a gesture so un-Snape-like that Buffy blinked in astonishment.

"My father was not a muggle as everyone believed," he said in an emotionless tone. "He was a Gladr demon."

Buffy looked at Giles sharply.

"The Gladr are a fairly harmless species of demon," Giles told her. "They aren't particularly remarkable. I seem to recall that they excrete an oily substance from their skin that can be useful in some darker rituals, but other than that…"

"I was fortunate that I inherited most of my appearance from my human mother," Snape said briskly. Now that his confession was out of the way and no one seemed too disgusted he was regaining his usual demeanour. "To this day I do not know what possessed her to take up with a demon and have his child. I know only that her family disowned her for it and she spent the rest of her life as an outcast. My father, if you can call him that, had long since abandoned her." He looked around at all their curious faces. "Now if you have all finished interrogating me I will take my leave of you." He swept towards the door without waiting for an answer.

"Ha!" Ron said loudly. "I always knew there was something off about him."

"Ronald!" Mrs Weasley chastised. "That is no way to talk about one of your Professors. Even if he is part demon."

"Sorry mum."

Buffy couldn't help but stare at the door Snape had just departed through. No wonder he was such a snarky git. Her eyes met Kendra's and they shared a long look. Both knew that whatever his disposition Snape wasn't a full demon and would not be harmed by either of them. He was too pitiful and had helped too much in the war.

"I can't believe it," Harry said from her side. "He's always having a go at Lupin because he's a werewolf, but he's half demon. That's way worse."

"Neither one of them can help what they are," Buffy said sadly. "They just have to deal with the consequences." She shook her head to bring herself out of her reverie. "Speaking of, can you get Ron and Ginny? We need to talk. We can use one of the bedrooms upstairs."

"Ok," Harry said, giving her a curious look and hurrying off.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Giles asked, not disguising the fact that he had been listening.

"No," Buffy said after a moment's thought, watching as Harry led Ron and Ginny out of the kitchen. "They should hear this from me. It'll be easier if it's just us. Can you keep Xander and Willow here?"

"Of course," Giles said, moving to find the two teens.

Buffy walked as discretely as possible from the room. She knew that Kendra had seen her, but hoped that the other Slayer would know not to follow her.

She trudged up the stairs and to the room Harry and Ron shared while they were here. She could hear their voices coming from inside. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Great party," Ron said with a grin as Buffy entered and took a seat on one of the two beds. She stood up again almost instantly and turned to face the wall. She had no idea how to begin.

A gentle hand on her arm made Buffy jump. Ginny was there, looking concerned as she studied her friends troubled face.

"Something's wrong," Harry said. It wasn't a question.

"What do you mean?" Ron demanded. "Everything's great. You-Know-Who is dead, Snape's dead scared of Hermione because he's a demon. What could possibly be wrong?"

"What about all the people who died yesterday?" Ginny said crossly. "We're celebrating, but so many people lost their lives, fighting."

"I feel bad for them," Ron conceded, "but we _won_. No one else has to die. Don't you get it? It was the _Final Battle_."

"No it wasn't," Buffy said, so quietly she wouldn't know for sure they even heard her if they hadn't suddenly gone so quiet.

"You don't think Voldemort's still alive do you?" Harry asked, fighting hard to keep his voice from wavering.

"No. He's dead forever. I'm sure of it." Buffy was still facing away from them, unable to meet their eyes.

"Then what…"

"Voldemort may be dead, but there are other things, vampires, demons, monsters, even more dark wizards. Some of them just want to kill a lot of people, maybe rule the planet, but some of them want to bring about the apocalypse."

"No," Harry said, a note of desperation in his voice. "It's over."

Buffy turned to face him. "Yes, it is. It's over for you," her eyes moved to Ron and Ginny who were staring at her disbelievingly, "for all of you. You can move on with your lives now, no more fighting, no more impossible adventures. You can do anything you want."

"So can you," Ginny said in a small voice.

"No," Buffy said, aware that her eyes were beginning to well up. "I can't." Buffy focused on Harry. "Your destiny was to kill Voldemort. You've done that and now you're free. Mine is to fight the forces of darkness. I've been doing that for over two years, but I'm not done. I'll never be done."

"I don't understand," Harry confessed. "We won. It's finished."

"You're finished," Buffy corrected him. "I still have work to do. A Slayer's job isn't over until she's dead."

Silence followed her pronouncement, the kind where everyone is searching for the right words even though they know they'll never find them.

"What does that mean?" Ginny asked finally.

"It means I have to go back to Sunnydale."

Ron laughed suddenly. "Is that all? Well that's alright. We'll see you next year at school."

"No, Ron, I'm going back to stay." Buffy absently wiped away the tear that had trickled down her cheek. "There's a Hellmouth there that needs its guardian. I've been away too long already."

"That's Kendra's job," Ron insisted. "She's a Slayer too."

"Do you really think Kendra could handle that kind of responsibility right now?" Buffy asked in agitation. They all knew what Kendra had been through, how did they expect her to cope with the Hellmouth all alone? "She's so torn up over everything that's happened, she's scared and the guilt is eating away at her. She needs me as much as the Hellmouth needs a guardian. She doesn't have anyone else, she killed her own Watcher remember. I will be there for her."

"What about us?" Harry asked brokenly.

"You don't need me anymore," Buffy said sadly. She held up a hand to stop them arguing. "I'm not saying you don't want me around, but you don't _need_ me. Sunnydale does, Kendra does. The _world_ needs me there to do my job, 'cos Kendra isn't ready to do it yet, not alone. I won't let everyone down no matter how much I want to stay and believe me I _want_ to stay."

"What about school," Ron pointed out, with the air of someone who has detected a huge hole in the plan.

"Giles spoke to Dumbledore for me," Buffy explained. "The teachers will all set me work to do as a kind of self study programme. I'll be coming here once a month to make sure I'm keeping up and I'll be able to see you all then, but other than that I'll be living in California."

"It won't be the same," Ginny said bitterly.

"I know," Buffy agreed. "But it's the best we can do."

Buffy sat gingerly on the bed, once again averting her eyes. Ginny sat beside her and laid her head gently on Buffy's shoulder.

"When do you leave?" Harry asked with a hitch in his voice. Buffy could guess how he was feeling. Yet another person he cared for was leaving him behind and there was nothing he could do.

"In a week. Angel should be back to normal then and we'll all be able to portkey back together. I think mom's glad to be going home, she keeps talking about getting everything back to normal. I can't help but wonder if Snyder will even let me back in school."

"Can we come?" Ron asked hesitantly.

"NO!" Buffy surprised even herself by almost shouting. "You've fought more battles than anyone should have to, now it's time for you to rest and eventually become the people you're meant to be. You can't do that in Sunnydale."

"And you can?"

"The moment they Chose me they took away my right to choose for myself," Buffy said with forced calm. "I really do _have_ to go back. At least this time I can say goodbye properly."

They sat together in silence for a long while, until the party ended and Dumbledore came to take them back to school.

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The portkey dropped them off just outside Restfield cemetery.

"Yup, nothing says welcome back to Sunnydale better than a graveyard tour," Xander quipped, eager to take his friends minds off the tearful farewells that had taken place in Giles' Hogsmeade home.

"I bet nothing's changed the whole time we were gone," Willow said hopefully. "Except Spike and Drusilla aren't here anymore. Unless this is where they came after the battle. I mean, when they took off they could have gone anywhere."

"Relax Will," Buffy said soothingly. "I'm sure after everything that happened Spike wants to be well away from all of us for a while. This is the last place he'd go."

"It feels like there should be a welcoming committee," Xander said hopefully. "Some kind of parade welcoming us home."

"Don't get your hopes up," Jenny said with a smile as she hefted her suitcase. "These lightening charms are really something."

"Oh, yes," Joyce agreed. "And now Buffy can use magic whenever she likes I'm sure she'll be very useful around the house."

"What am I? A kitchen appliance?" Buffy grumbled as she picked up her own luggage, which consisted of a shrunk trunk and a backpack. Angel took the backpack from her hands solicitously and put an arm about her, offering the comfort he was sure she needed.

Giles cleared his throat. "I'm sure your abilities will be most valuable, not only at home, but for Slaying. Now we can concentrate on using both your magic and your strength in tandem."

"Ooh," Willow cooed as something occurred to her. "Now Voldemort is dead you don't have to hide your brain anymore. We can be study buddies." The wiccan squealed in excitement.

"Great," Buffy shrugged unenthusiastically. Running through her head was the forlorn looks on her Hogwarts friends' faces as they'd said goodbye. She knew she hadn't been much better. No amount of weekend visits would ever be the same as seeing them every day, or having classes together. As they walked through the streets Buffy recognised the spot where she'd run into them last year. That was the moment Buffy had finally stopped deluding herself and admitted how much she needed them, how much she missed them. A fact she had been denying to herself since Merrick had taken her away from Hogwarts.

Now she _had_ admitted it things would be harder. She'd have to accept that they weren't part of her life in the same way anymore and move on. There was no alternative. She had to be here, but they didn't. They deserved a chance to be normal kids for as long as they could, especially Harry.

Buffy was shaken from her musings by a growl off to one side. Before anyone else could react she had pulled out both her stake in her left hand and her wand in her right. "Look Xander, it's the welcoming committee."

"What kept ya?" Xander said with a straight face. "We thought you'd forgotten us."

Moving with the speed of a Slayer Buffy staked the vampire. As he exploded into a shower of ash she was horrified to realise she'd used the wrong hand.

"Oops," she said as she inspected her wand for damage. She looked up to the faces of her friends and family. She smiled ruefully. "Welcome to the Hellmouth."

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A/N: Well that is the last chapter. A little short I know, but it really was just to tie up loose ends and get the gang moving back to Sunnydale. I'm sorry it took so long, but I've had dance performances and work and just general not feeling like writing to contend with. Only the epilogue to go now and then I'll be concentrating on 'On the Run.'

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Hopefully the epilogue won't take quite as long.

Nats.


	30. Epilogue

Epilogue.

Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley appeared in what appeared to be an empty car park. Harry stumbled slightly as his feet it the ground. Ron merely grinned at him as he caught his arm.

"Any idea where we are?" Ron asked.

Harry shrugged. "Sunnydale." He looked around them checking for any witnesses, pulled out his wand and placed it on his outstretched palm. "Point me to Hermione Granger." The wand spun and pointed off to the right.

The two wizards wordlessly began to walk in that direction.

It had been three years since either of them had seen Hermione and Harry was nervous about how she would react to seeing them again. To be honest he didn't even know what had happened to estrange them beyond her insistence that they have a normal life while she continued to do her duty here at the mouth of Hell.

The year after Voldemort had been killed had been quiet for them. Harry and Ron had been in their seventh and final year at Hogwarts and couldn't have been more bored. Meanwhile Hermione had been attending high school here with Willow and Xander and visiting with them one weekend a month. It hadn't been enough for any of them, but they bore it with the air of people making the most out of a bad situation. Hermione had grown increasingly troubled throughout the year although she always refused to tell them why. Harry smiled as he remembered her excitement at getting into several colleges. It seemed that with Kendra making vast improvements it would be possible for her to leave. She intended to learn how to make a portkey in case they needed her, but otherwise she was free to be like all the other kids her age. She was even contemplating going to Oxford or Cambridge so she would be able to see 'her boys' regularly.

That dream had died very suddenly the night Kendra was killed. Harry had never gotten the full story, but it seemed something had happened at the school and the Scoobies were forced to blow it up at their graduation ceremony. When Hermione had come to take the NEWTs – British schools breaking up far later than American ones – she had told them that her sister Slayer had been eaten by a giant snake and that was it. She had been very subdued even as she'd smiled about the fact that she had 'survived Sunnydale High.'

She'd attended Sunnydale University with Willow the following year while Ginny completed her last year of Hogwarts and Harry and Ron attended Auror school. They'd both decided that they wanted to learn as much as possible so that they could move to Sunnydale and help. No matter what Hermione said it was their decision and this was what they wanted to do. They hadn't seen much of Hermione at all that year and it wasn't until Willow added a note to one of her letters that they knew why. It seemed Angel had left her at the end of the year before so she could have a normal relationship and she had fallen for some guy named Riley Finn. Her lack of visits were due to her spending every waking moment with him. They had, of course, immediately booked time off to go and see this new guy and judge for themselves if he was good enough for her. That was the last time they'd seen her.

"Do you think she'll be happy to see us?" Ron asked slightly fearfully.

It was a question Harry had asked himself many times. Would she be glad they'd come or would she slam the door in their faces?

"Yeah," he said with a confidence he did not feel. "I'm sure she will."

That next year Hermione had barely even written to them. It was understandable though as her mother was very ill with a tumour on her brain. Once they heard they'd offered all sorts of magical help and were even prepared to ask Snape for any potions that might work when she had written back and told them that it was an affliction wizards did not get so had no cure for. Joyce's life was in the hands of the muggle doctors.

It turned out that wasn't enough. Even though they'd removed the tumour Joyce still died. Unfortunately a storm over the Atlantic meant that the owl that delivered their letter was delayed and they missed the funeral by over a week. They sent their apologies back and made plans to visit over the summer, when they sent a letter to tell Hermione they'd received no reply until a week before they were due to leave. The letter was from Willow telling them that Hermione was not herself and that they shouldn't come. She had promised to get Hermione to contact them but the message was clear, stay away.

They'd unhappily abided by those wishes and awaited another owl to tell them their friend was herself again - whatever that meant. It hadn't come.

That had been almost three years ago. Only four weeks ago Ron and Lavender had been married. Ron had invited Hermione. She hadn't shown up. She hadn't even sent an apology or an excuse. That had been the last straw for both of them, but Ron most of all. They'd decided that no matter what they would see the girl who was once their best friend and they wouldn't leave until they had some answers.

"Where is everyone?" Harry wondered aloud as they approached the house. It was the middle of a typical Californian day but there wasn't a single person to be seen. In fact Harry hadn't seen anyone since the portkey had dropped them off. No kids playing, or joggers, or people walking dogs, nothing. The houses had an eerie quality to them as though they were all abandoned. Except the one they were heading towards. The windows were boarded up and it looked like something fairly eventful had happened here recently. Through the boards Harry could hear voices.

"Dunno." Ron raised a hand and knocked on the door.

The voices hushed instantly and a moment later eyes could be seen peeking through a gap in the boards. Many footsteps approached and a huddle of people could be seen through the small windows either side of the door. They waited impatiently.

Harry discretely cast a spell they'd learnt in Auror training to listen to what was going on inside and saw Ron do the same.

"What if they're Bringers?" It was a young girl who spoke.

"No, I looked," another girl replied. "They have eyes and they look human."

"They could be the First," another girl pointed out.

"Not if they knocked."

"So are we gonna answer it or not?" the first girl asked.

"It's _your_ house."

"They can't be here for anything good."

"We're the only humans in town. They have to be working for the First." Harry and Ron exchanged a startled glance at this.

"Maybe we should get my sister."

"They're still having their inner circle meeting. We shouldn't bother them." Harry noted that not all the girls had American accents. There was at least one British girl here.

"Surely she'd want to be bothered for something like this." That was definitely an Australian speaker.

"Get back." Whoever it was had clearly come to a decision. "I'll open the door. If they do anything weird scream for Buffy."

Despite his curiosity at the situation Harry was relieved to hear the name Buffy. It meant they'd found Hermione.

The door opened slowly and a dark haired girl looked out. She was around sixteen and there was something very familiar about her Harry couldn't place. Behind her were an assortment of girls all below the age of twenty of varying heights and colouration. They all looked extremely nervous.

Harry gave them his most winning smile. "Hi. Is Her-Buffy here?"

"Her-Buffy?" the dark haired girl asked. "Nope."

"I meant Buffy. Is she home?"

The girls all looked at each other as though unsure what they should say. "Why don't you wait here," the dark haired girl said at last. "I'll see if she's free." She closed the door.

The spell continued to work as they waited.

"I think they're evil."

"Duh!"

"I thought they were cute."

"They didn't look evil."

"Two strangers come here looking for Buffy when the whole town is deserted? They _have_ to be evil."

"We _are_ living on the Hellmouth."

"Move it."

Harry felt his muscles tense. That was a voice he knew very well even after all this time.

The door opened once more and Harry stared right into the face of Hermione Granger. She was older and there was a lifetime of pain in her eyes that hadn't been there the last time they'd met, but there was no mistaking her.

She blinked at the sight of them. "Oh my God."

"Are they evil?" A girl with long dark and slightly curly hair asked belligerently. "I think we can take them."

Hermione seemed to shake herself as if remembering their audience. "No they're not evil." She stepped aside and gestured for them to enter.

As they stepped over the threshold Harry saw the dark haired girl they'd first spoken to standing at Hermione's side. "Who are they?"

Hermione frowned. "You don't remember them?"

"No. Should I?"

Hermione didn't answer, instead looked between them and the young girl in confusion. Suddenly she seemed to realise something. She laughed a very forced laugh. "Oh, Dawnie, I can't believe you forgot Harry and Ron. They only used to be my best friends in the world before we moved here." She turned to the two young men. "I know it's been a while since we all saw each other, but I'm sure you recognise my sister Dawn." Her eyes seemed to be pleading with them to play along.

Only his Auror training kept the bewildered expression from his face and he was sure Ron wasn't doing much better. "Yeah," he said slowly. "Wow, Dawn, you sure have grown."

"Oh, now I remember you guys. It sure has been a long time, huh?" Whoever she may be Dawn was a far better actor than he was, he had to give her that much.

"Let's continue this upstairs," Hermione waved off all the other girls and started heading up the stairs. "Dawn, why don't you come with, so we can all catch up together?"

Hermione led the three of them to a bedroom and walked in. Several people were seated on the bed and a few stood around it. Harry immediately recognised Willow and Giles. Neither had changed that much unless you counted the extra grey hairs on Giles' head. He did a double take when he spotted Xander, wearing an eye patch over his left eye. There were another two girls sitting on the bed: one with long blond hair and a slight pout and a brunette, wearing very tight leather trousers and a sultry expression.

No one hurried forward to greet them, instead they just stared at the new arrivals in surprise.

From downstairs Harry could still hear the girls talking thanks to his spell.

"Who do you think they are?"

"Buffy knew them, so they must be alright."

"Please," a third voice scoffed. Before Harry cancelled the spell he heard her add, "I'd be more surprised if she had a friend that _wasn't_ evil at some point."

It seemed he'd stopped the spell just in time for the blond girl chose that moment to speak. "Hi, I'm Anya. I don't know you."

"I'm Harry, this is Ron," Harry said quickly. He vaguely remembered Hermione mentioning a girl named Anya who was seeing Xander. She'd been described as a sweet girl, but very odd.

"Faith," the other unknown girl said with a nod. That was a name he recognised instantly. She'd been Called as the Slayer after Kendra had died. Apparently she and Hermione had a very rocky relationship resulting in Faith taking off for a while saying she wanted to see the world. It seemed she was back.

"We can talk freely here," Hermione told them. "I trust everyone in this room."

Harry nodded. Before he could say anything Ron blurted out, "you don't have a sister."

Dawn stepped behind Hermione and ducked her head. "You're not gonna tell them are you?"

"It's either tell these two the truth and trust them to keep it a secret and play along or tell all those girls downstairs why my two really old friends don't remember me having a little sister."

"Oh," Dawn said.

Giles stepped forward to shake hands with them both. "I apologise for the cool reception. You took us by surprise."

Willow and Xander joined him in greeting their old friends.

Faith stood up. "You know, I'm not really into the touchy feely stuff so I'm gonna head down and keep an eye on the girls. Make sure they don't disturb you all."

"Thanks, Faith," Hermione sighed and dropped into her vacated spot.

Faith paused before exiting. "For what it's worth, I think it's a great plan and I'm in all the way."

Hermione smiled warmly. "That means a lot."

"We're missing a lot here, aren't we?" Harry asked intuitively as Faith left the room.

"Most likely," Anya said brightly. "But then so am I. Xander tell me who they are."

Xander shrugged apologetically and pulled her off to one side for a quiet conversation.

"I believe I'll go and help Faith," Giles said. "Buffy, please call me if you need anything."

Hermione nodded and watched him close the door behind him.

"I guess I should start from just after we last saw each other," she said, pulling Dawn down next to her. "Have either of you ever heard of the key?"

Harry shook his head as he pulled out his wand and conjured a chair. He was surprised to see Dawn's eyes bug out of her head, though she kept her mouth shut.

"It's this mystical energy that controls the barriers between dimensions," Hermione explained. "It was protected by monks until this Hell goddess tried to take it for herself to get back to her own dimension."

"What's so bad about that?" Ron wondered.

"Once the barriers were down they would have stayed down until all the energy was gone," Dawn said in a quiet voice. "So much would have been destroyed. Possibly everything."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Right. I get it, but what has this got to do with you having a sister?"

"The monks knew they couldn't keep the key from Glory so they sent it to me," Hermione said. She was running a gentle hand through Dawn's hair. "They wanted to make sure I'd do anything to keep it safe so they put it into a person then changed all our memories to make us think she'd been there all along."

Harry's mouth dropped open.

"She may not have been born in the conventional sense, but she is my sister," Hermione continued.

"Like Kendra," Ron said knowingly.

"Pretty much, although Kendra was born in the conventional sense and her being my sister had more to do with a sense of shared responsibility and having no one else in the world that really understood what we were."

"I don't get it," Willow said suddenly, making Harry jump. He'd forgotten she was there. "If the monks changed all our memories why didn't they change Harry and Ron's too? Dawn was with us in Hogsmeade, I remember."

"Hogsmeade?" Dawn said, pulling a face.

"Dawn doesn't remember them either," Hermione said.

"What does that mean?" Willow asked.

"I'm willing to bet it means the monks didn't know about the magical world," Hermione said slowly. "They must have just added her into our lives without checking our background. When we moved here from England we covered our tracks pretty well, if they only knew what the paperwork said that could explain why Dawn doesn't know them."

"And maybe they were protected because they're wizards," Willow mused. "No, that can't be it, or you wouldn't have been affected either."

"Maybe we were just too far away," Harry guessed.

"Ok, I've been quiet for a really long time," Dawn cut in, "but now I gotta ask. Magical world? Wizards? Buffy's a wizard? Why am I just hearing about this now?"

"It's very simple," Anya said brightly from across the room. "There's a magical world that exists independently of this one, full of wizards and witches that can do magic with pointy wands." She turned to Xander. "You could have saved yourself a lot of time if you'd just told me that to start with." To Dawn she said, "Buffy's a witch, not a wizard."

"Wait, you knew about this? How? We never said anything," Willow said suspiciously.

Anya rolled her eyes. "I spent a thousand years as a vengeance demon granting the wishes of scorned women. You don't think some of those women were witches?"

"Witches can grant their own wishes," Willow pointed out.

"Yes, but there's a difference between what they _can _do and what they _will _do," Anya said condescendingly. "I had no such problems."

"Who else knows about this?" Dawn asked from between clenched teeth.

Hermione winced. "Spike knows, too. And Giles. But that's it, I swear." She thought about it for a second. "Unless one of the potentials is from a magical family."

"And no one though to tell me?" Dawn asked angrily.

"I guess we all assumed you knew," Willow reassured her. "As far as our memories are concerned you were right there with us."

"_Where_?" Dawn demanded in exasperation.

Hermione laid a gentle hand on her arm. "Dawnie, I know this is a lot to take in, but I need to talk to Harry and Ron for a bit."

"Fine. I'll get Spike to explain it to me," Dawn huffed.

Harry stopped her before she could leave. "For what it's worth, we won't tell anyone."

For just a second Harry thought he saw a grateful smile on her lips, then it was gone and she flounced from the room.

"Don't you ever use magic?" Ron asked Hermione.

She furrowed her brow in thought. "Not really. It's not much use on patrol as it doesn't work on vamps and I try not to use it too much here where anyone can walk in on me. I guess she's just never seen me use it."

"When did it happen?" Harry asked, thinking back to the last time they'd seen the Scoobies. Dawn hadn't been around three years ago.

"About a month after your last visit, or that's our closest guess," Xander told them.

"You never even mentioned her in your letters" Ron said accusingly.

"Why should I?" Hermione shrugged. "At first she was just my annoying little sister. When we found out what she was I didn't want to tell you in case someone from the magical world intercepted the letter. The last thing we needed was someone else to protect her from."

"Why did you stop writing?" Ron said suddenly.

Hermione hung her head miserably. "At first things with Glory and Dawn were happening so fast I just didn't have time. Then I was, you know, and when I got back I didn't know what to say. I had no idea how to tell you… The longer I left it the harder it was. Eventually I figured it was probably for the best if you just went on thinking I was dead. How'd you know I was back anyway?"

Harry's jaw dropped. Beside him Ron was doing an admirable impression of a goldfish.

"Umm," Willow looked between them nervously. "Buffy, remember I told you that I wrote them while you were dead? I kinda didn't tell them that part."

Hermione's eyes widened and she looked at the two men in horror.

"See, I found their letter about their visit a week or so before you came back. By then we were already planning on resurrecting you and I didn't want to upset them, unnecessarily. I figured if it didn't work we could tell them then. I just wanted them to not come, so I told them you weren't yourself, which is kind of true 'cos the Buffy Bot was pretending to be you and I knew they wouldn't be fooled by the Bot, 'cos they know you so well."

Harry drew in a deep breath. "You were dead?"

Hermione nodded sadly.

"Again?" Ron said.

Hermione looked at him for a long moment before snorting. "As fun as this has been, guys, you really shouldn't be here."

"There's no way we're leaving now," Ron said vehemently. "Without us you'll probably just get yourself killed again. Besides you still haven't told me why you didn't come to my wedding."

"You're married!" Hermione exclaimed. She glanced at Harry for confirmation and grinned when he nodded. "Congratulations."

"You didn't get my owl?"

Hermione, Willow and Xander exchanged a long look. "There's an evil presence in Sunnydale, that goes by the name of the First Evil," Anya said. "It wants to kill us all."

"Hermione nodded in agreement. "It drove all the people, all the demons and pretty much all the wildlife from the area. I doubt an owl would come anywhere near here."

"That's what we're fighting?" Harry asked apprehensively.

Hermione frowned, but Willow spoke up before she could say anything. "We could use their help, Buffy."

The frown stayed in place, but eventually Hermione nodded. She stood and walked to the window. Beside her, in a chair, was a red axe-like weapon. She picked it up and held it reverently.

"The First Evil isn't just it's name, it's what it _is_. The source of all evil and it's trying to destroy the Slayer line and then the world. That's what all those girls are doing downstairs. Each one of them is a potential Slayer, awaiting their chance to be Called, sent here by what remains of the Watcher's Council for protection.

"The First has an army of super strong prehistoric vampires waiting beneath the Hellmouth, ready to come and devour the world. Tomorrow, we're going to stop them.

"This is a weapon I took from one of the First's minions. We're calling it the scythe. It's a weapon intended to be wielded by the Slayer and it contains the essence of what makes a Slayer. Willow is going to use it to change the world for the better. After tomorrow Faith and I won't be the only Slayers any more. There will be hundreds, maybe thousands all over the world and there will be thirty trained ones right here who have been sitting in this house for months waiting to die and all of whom are ready to fight. Tomorrow, we're breaking all the rules."

Harry and Ron mulled it over for a moment. "How can we help?" Ron asked at last.

Hermione smiled. "I'm sure we can find _something_ for you to do."

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They stood there, the survivors of Sunnydale and stared into the crater that had once been a bustling town.

Buffy Summers, the girl who was once Hermione Granger and perhaps in some ways still was, could only smile. On her right was Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, both bloody and tired, but wearing confident grins as they looked upon the carnage they had helped wreak. To her left was Willow Rosenberg, one incredibly powerful Wicca, her face shone with contentment as she was finally freed of her fears of losing control to the magic around her and Xander, battle hardened yet loveable Xander, whose face was saddened with grief for those they lost, yet hopeful of a less painful future.

Buffy didn't know where she would go from here. Maybe she could go back to simpler days where everything could be solved with the wave of a wand, or maybe it was too late for that. Part of her would always be the Slayer and these new girls would need guidance from someone with her experience. Whatever happened she knew she would have her friends standing at her side. _All_ of them.

Ron summed it all up. "Now _that_ was the Final Battle."

"Ron, this time, you might actually be right."

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A/N: OMG! I finished it! Only a week after my last post, too. I feel very proud of myself right now, I'm practically jumping up and down. It only took me about ten months to get to this point, but here it is. The final chapter of 'New Life, Meet Old Life.' For those that were wondering there will be no sequel as I don't think there's really anywhere else to go with this story. That doesn't mean I won't be writing anymore though, I still have 'On the Run' to finish and after that who knows?

Obviously I decided to go with Faith in the end. I'm sorry to those who wanted Kendra to live, but I felt Faith worked better even though it was a very small part. I know some of you will be disappointed that so much happened between chapter 29 and the epilogue, but take comfort in the fact tat there is a happy ending and they all got back together in the end.

Please review and let me know what you think. You can also visit my Yahoo! Group by clicking the link in my profile and ask me anything you want there.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and all those that stuck with me from the beginning.

Nats.


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